ACTIVITIES OF DAILY LIVING AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN PATIENTS WITH RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS.

Abstract

Background: Rheumatoid Arthritis is a chronic inflammatory disease which characterized by progressive articular
damage of the joints with extra-articular manifestations. Rheumatoid Arthritis has a significant impact on losing
physical function and impairment of quality of life of patients; which is a leading cause of dependency and
disability.
Aim: Theaim of the present study was to determine relation between patients charecterstics’and each of activities of
daily living and quality of life.
Patients and methods: The design of study was descriptive analytic(160) RA patientsconsecutively recruited from
theRheumatology and Physical Rehabilitation Center in Sulaimni provenance/Kurdistan region/ Iraq from March
2019 to February 2020.Thestudy tools included Health Assessment Questionnaire, Barthel Index and World Health
Organization Quality of Life-BREF. The data was collected through direct interview, descriptive and inferential
statistics were used to analyze the data.
Results:The score of all domain of quality of life was negatively affected particularly the physical (51.11 ±12.53)
and psychological domain (5 3.13 ± 12.37).Physical functions on HAQ score was deteriorating with increasing age.
Based on Barthel Index score, it showed that (35%) of the participant were moderately dependent on others. Quality
of life and activities of daily living deteriorate with increasing age, body mass index, duration of disease and using
walking aids.
Conclusion: Rheumatoid Arthritis has a significant negative effect on participant activities of daily living. Elderly,
obese patients, longer duration of disease has impact on activities of daily living and quality of life.