Comparative Health-Related Quality of Life of Patients with Psoriatic versus Rheumatoid Arthritis

Abstract

Background: Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are chronic inflammatory diseases significantly impairing health status and quality of life. Although they are both joint diseases with dissimilar clinical presentations, they impact health-related quality of life differently. The difference in treatment approach is crucial in the best possible patient care.

Objective: The present research was carried out to compare the health-related quality of life of patients who have PsA and patients who have RA with respect to the physical functioning, pain management, and mental health consequences.

Methods: The sample consisted of 256 patients, half of whom reported PsA and the other half RA. The patients were drawn from outpatient rheumatology clinics through stratified random sampling. The design of the research was cross-sectional. Measurement of HRQoL was obtained from the SF-36 Health Survey and HAQ. The assessment carried out also included the evaluation of joint inflammation, skin lesions, and physical functioning. Data were analyzed with SPSS version 25.0, and statistical significance was set at p < 0.05.

Results: Patients with PsA had less physical dysfunction (SF-36 physical functioning subscale: 67.0 ± 27.0 vs. 45.3 ± 25.1, p = 0.0001) and less physical disability (HAQ Physical Disability Index: 0.58 ± 0.65 vs. 1.11 ± 0.78, p = 0.0001) than RA. Grip strength was higher in the PsA group (243.3 ± 66.4 mm Hg vs. 158.4 ± 69.4 mm Hg, p = 0. However, no differences were observed in the mental health scores between the two groups.

Conclusion: The PsA patients perform better in the level of physical health outcomes compared to the outcomes attained by RA patients, although for the mental health, the two tend to have similar impacts. The outcome of this study points out that the treatment and management should be tailor-made to meet the needs of the specific patient group for the improvement of the overall HRQoL.

Keywords: Psoriatic arthritis, Rheumatoid arthritis, Health-related quality of life, SF-36, HAQ, Chronic inflammatory diseases, Physical functioning, Mental health outcomes