Title:Correlation between Quality of Life and Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate
with Disease Activity in Rheumatoid Arthritis
Volume: 20
Issue: 5
Author(s): Ashaq Parrey*, Manzoor Koka and Mohd Ismail
Affiliation:
- Department of Medicine, Government Medical College, Akbar Colony Nowgam, India
Keywords:
Rheumatoid arthritis, disease activity score, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, quality of life, integrative treatment, rehabilitation.
Abstract:
Background: Inflammatory markers are crucial in diagnosing and monitoring rheumatoid
arthritis. Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) live with constant pain that limits their daily
activities. Our study highlights the effects of disease activity on the quality of life in patients with
rheumatoid arthritis.
Methods: Swollen joint count (SJC), tender joint count (TJC), and visual activity scale (VAS)
were utilized to acquire patients' subjective feelings of wellness and their performance of routine
daily activities to determine the disease activity. The patient's erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR)
was measured at the clinical hematology laboratory using the Westergren method. The Quality
of Life was rated on a scale of 1 to 10.
Results: Our study found that disease activity is inversely proportional to the quality of life. Out
of 111 patients, 3 (2.7%) were in remission, 1 (0.9%) had mild disease, 51 (45.9%) had moderate
disease, and 56 (50.5%) had high disease activity. The ESR was normal (<20) in 11 patients
(9.9%), moderately elevated (20-50) in 56 (50.5%) patients, and very high (>50) in 44 (39.6%) patients.
The study revealed that 66% of patients in remission had normal, while 33% had moderately
elevated ESR. 12.5% of patients with moderate disease activity had normal ESR, and none with
high disease activity had normal ESR. Of 44 patients with high ESR, 7 had moderate disease activity,
and 37 had high disease activity. In our study, 60% of patients had a less than 50% quality of
life compared to patients with pre-arthritis.
Conclusion: High disease activity affects the productivity and quality of life in patients with rheumatoid
arthritis. Assessing the impact of different interventions on the QOL should be an essential
task that can help define a holistic and integrative treatment and rehabilitation model for RA patients.
