Comparison of health-related quality of life in patients with rheumatoid arthritis during conventional or conventional plus biological therapy in Poland

Figures & data

Table 1 Sociodemographic, clinical, and biochemical characteristics in the patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Analyzed parameters	Group I (n=126)	Group II (n=86)	P-value
Gender: women/men	102/24	60/26	0.0613
Age (years)	59 (53, 64)	54 (46, 58)	0.0008*
BMI (kg/m^2)	27.0 (24.5, 29.7)	25.4 (22.8, 28.3)	0.005*
Education (n): primary/vocational/secondary/higher	17/35/54/20	0/19/36/31	<0.0001
Place of residence (n): urban/rural area	91/35	62/24	0.9836
Marital status (n): single/married/widow/divorced	6/89/23/8	7/59/8/12	0.0724
Professional activity(n): yes/no	33/93	34/52	0.0191
Smoking tobacco (n): nonsmoker/smoker	95/31	76/10	0.0160
Drinking alcohol (n): yes/no	29/97	15/71	0.3221
ESR (mm/hour)	18 (13, 29)	15 (11, 20)	0.0045*
CRP (mg/dL)	0.74 (0.32, 1.3)	0.71 (0.6, 1.2)	0.3542*
GFR (mL/hour/1.73 m^2)	97 (85, 116)	103 (85, 130)	0.1540*
AlAT (U/L)	20 (16, 28)	21 (19, 24)	0.3008*
AspAT (U/L)	21 (17, 25)	21 (19, 24)	0.7456*
Number of painful joints (n)	6 (3, 10)	5 (2, 7)	0.1174*
Number of swollen joints (n)	4 (2, 6)	3 (2, 4)	0.0013*
Duration of morning stiffness (hour)	1 (0.3, 1)	0.3 (0.15, 0.85)	0.0424*
VAS (score)	60 (49, 68)	41 (38, 48)	<0.0001*
DAS-28 (score)	3.9 (3.4, 4.6)	3.6 (2.9, 4.0)	0.0009*
Duration of disease (months)	72 (24, 184)	120 (84, 216)	0.0002*
Duration of biological treatment (months)	–	14 (12, 36)
Comorbidities (n): diabetes/diseases of the cardiovascular system/diseases of the gastrointestinal system/neurologic diseases/diseases of the skin	7/35/17/15/6	2/23/6/7/9
Drugs (n): Methotrexate/Sulfasalazine/NSAID/Glucocorticosteroids/Etanercept/Adalimumab	119/7/33/34/0/0	86/0/0/31/52/34

Notes:

* Mann–Whitney U-test. Data presented as median (IQR) unless stated otherwise ie, (n).

Abbreviations: AlAT, alanine transaminase; AspAT, aspartate transaminase; BMI, body mass index; CRP, C-reactive protein; DAS-28, 28-Joint Disease Activity Score; ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate; GFR, glomerular filtration rate; IQR, interquartile range; NSAIDs, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; P, statistical significance of differences; VAS, Visual Analog Scale.

Table 2 The quality of life, physical efficiency, and the occurrence of depression in the patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Analyzed parameters		Group I (n=126)	Group II (n=86)	P-value
NHP-EL		76 (36.8, 100)	69.6 (36.8, 100.0)	0.7147*
NHP-P		63.5 (40.6, 81.3)	62.1 (40.6, 87.1)	0.7890*
NHP-ER		80.9 (58.7, 100)	85.2 (63.6, 100)	0.2275*
NHP-S		78.3 (34.9, 100)	85.7 (55.9, 100)	0.1968*
NHP-SI		100 (78, 100)	100 (78.0, 100)	0.9197*
NHP-PA		67.4 (54.8, 88.5)	67.4 (46.6, 89.2)	0.9364*
NHP (n [%])	Paid employment	44 (34.92)	36 (42.35)	0.2760
	Housework	78 (61.9)	55 (63.95)	0.7618
	Social life	28 (22.22)	27 (31.4)	0.1366
	Family life	19 (15.08)	14 (16.28)	0.8133
	Sex life	42 (33.33)	38 (44.71)	0.0957
	Hobbies	59 (46.83)	56 (65.88)	0.0061
	Holidays	50 (39.68)	41 (48.24)	0.2189
HAQ		9 (5, 14)	8 (3, 14)	0.6808*
Dressing and grooming	Without any difficulty/with some difficulty/with much difficulty/unable to do (%)	32.5/29.4/38.1/0	39.5/29.1/30.2/1.16	0.3305
Getting up		30.2/34.1/34.9/0.8	41.9/24.4/33.7/0	0.1975
Eating		38.1/38.1/22.2/1.6	41.9/37.2/17.4/3.5	0.6724
Walking		41.3/33.3/24.6/0.8	45.4/23.3/31.4/0	0.2711
Hygiene		29.4/22.2/40.5/7.9	33.7/9.3/45.4/11.6	0.0848
Reach		20.6/29.4/43.7/6.4	25.6/32.6/34.9/7.0	0.5718
Grip		29.4/10.3/57.9/2.4	33.7/7.0/55.8/3.5	0.7475
Other activities		25.4/34.9/32.5/7.1	38.4/19.8/36.1/5.8	0.0615
HAQ standardized		1.25 (0.625, 1.75)	1 (0.375, 1.75)	0.6808*
BDI (score)		14 (9, 22)	12.5 (6, 20)	0.2529*
Depression (%)	Mild/moderate/without depression	52.4/9.5/38.1	47.7/5.8/46.5	0.3677

Notes:

* Mann–Whitney U-test. Data presented as median (IQR) unless stated otherwise ie, (n).

Abbreviations: BDI, Beck Depression Inventory; EL, energy level; ER, emotional reaction; HAQ, Health Assessment Questionnaire; IQR, interquartile ranges; NHP, Nottingham Health Profile; P, pain; P, statistical significance of differences; PA, physical abilities; S, sleep; SI, social isolation.

Table 3 Results of multiple regression between the values of the NHP domains and the sociodemographic, clinical indicators, BDI in the patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Domains	Group I (n=126)						Group II (n=86)
	NHP-EL	NHP-P	NHP-ER	NHP-S	NHP-SI	NHP-PA	NHP-EL	NHP-P	NHP-ER	NHP-S	NHP-SI	NHP-PA
Absolute term	0.04 (0.0001)	0.35 (0.0001)	0.21 (0.024)	0.10 (0.0001)	−0.11 (0.049)	−0.14 (0.0001)	−0.35 (0.0458)	−0.44 (0.0126)	−0.059 (0.0001)	0.033 (0.0001)	0.242 (0.0476)	−0.217 (0.0001)
Age	–	−0.004 (0.0486)	−0.003 (0.0356)	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	−0.007 (0.0052)	–
BMI	–	–	–	–	–	0.01 (0.008)	–	0.014 (0.006)	–	–	–	–
Education	–	–	–	–	–	–	−0.103 (0.0259)	–	–	–	−0.054 (0.047)	–
Duration of disease	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	−0.001 (0.001)	–	–	0.0004 (0.0348)	–
HAQ	0.02 (0.0097)	0.02 (0.0002)	–	0.01 (0.0466)	–	0.01 (0.0003)	0.025 (0.0002)	0.017 (0.0003)	–	–	–	0.2 (0.0001)
DAS-28	–	–	–	–	0.035 (0.0442)	–	–	0.13 (0.0006)	–	–	–	0.072 (0.004)
Duration of biological treatment	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	−0.002 (0.0353)	–	–	–	–
BDI	0.01 (0.0006)	0.007 (0.0108)	0.013 (0.0001)	0.01 (0.0055)	0.007 (0.0001)	0.005 (0.0095)	0.015 (0.0014)	–	0.02 (0.0001)	0.018 (0.0001)	0.017 (0.0001)	0.012 (0.0001)
R^2	0.194	0.206	0.269	0.130	0.179	0.258	0.387	0.416	0.478	0.245	0.377	0.630
P – ANOVA	<0.0001	<0.0001	<0.0001	0.0002	<0.0001	<0.0001	<0.0001	<0.0001	<0.0001	<0.0001	<0.0001	<0.0001

Notes: Numbers in brackets are p-values. Numbers outside brackets are standarized regression coefficients beta. Values of coefficients of determination are denoted as R squared. P-ANOVA – significance level of varience of the regression.

Abbreviations: BDI, Beck Depression Inventory; BMI, body mass index; DAS-28, 28-Joint Disease Activity Score; EL, energy level; ER, emotional reaction; HAQ, Health Assessment Questionnaire; NHP, Nottingham Health Profile; P, pain, PA, physical abilities; S, sleep; SI, social isolation.