Relationship of the functional status, duration of the disease and pain intensity and some psychological variables in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

A sample of 61 patients with rheumatoid arthritis was studied to assess the interrelationship between depression, helplessness, functional abilities, pain intensity and duration of the disease. The following questionnaires were employed: Arthritis Helplessness Index (AHI), Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), and the Modified Health Assessment Questionnaire (MHAQ). The pain intensity level was assessed using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Significant interrelationship of MHAQ with VAS and AHI was found as well as between AHI and CES-D and VAS and CES-D. A slight interrelationship between AHI and CES-D was also found. The results obtained from two groups of patients--one including patients with the disease lasting from 1 to 5, and the other extending over a period of 15 to 24 years--were compared. The second group manifested significantly greater difficulties in performing their everyday activities (MHAQ).