The relationship between illness perception, education, health assessment and disease activity in rheumatoid ar-thritis: a cross-sectional study

Gilberto Santos Novaes; Rafaela Lovato Franco; Rafael Madureira Ribas Costa; Andre Batocchio Quevedo; Diogo Rossi Rodrigues Alves; Mayara Manueira da Silveira; Luiza Bellintani Isaac; Claudia Hilbig; Reinaldo Jose Gianini.

Volume : VII, Issue : I, January - 2018

The relationship between illness perception, education, health assessment and disease activity in rheumatoid ar-thritis: a cross-sectional study

Gilberto Santos Novaes, Rafaela Lovato Franco, Rafael Madureira Ribas Costa, Andre Batocchio Quevedo, Diogo Rossi Rodrigues Alves, Mayara Manueira Da Silveira, Luiza Bellintani Isaac, Claudia Hilbig, Reinaldo Jose Gianini.

Abstract :

Objectives. Illness perception of symptoms and disease control in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is crucial in the evaluation of patients‘ clinimetry. We investigate in a cross-sectional study the relationship between illness perception, gender, level of education, health assessment, disease duration and disease activity score in RA patients.

Methods. Fifty-five patients with RA were evaluated. The illness perception was measured using the Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R), which represents an assessment about the perceived symptoms (PS), perceived control (PC) and perceived causes of RA. Age, gender, disease duration, education (years at school), HAQ and DAS28 were obtained. The data were examined by test T or Spearman. The significance level was <0.05.

Results. Patients were predominantly older, female, mean age of 55.7 years and mean disease duration of 12.7 years. Gender was not associated with PS (p=0.76) or PC (p=0.69). Education was not associated with HAQ (p=0.79), DAS28 (p=0.06), PS (p=0.35) or PC (p=0.96). Long disease duration was associated with high PS (p=0.02), but not with PC (p=0.48). DAS28 was significantly correlated with PS (p<0.01) but not with PC (p=0.32). HAQ was associated with PS (p=0.02) but not with PC (p=0.24). Perceived causes of disease were stress in 50.9% of patients and hereditary or excess of work in 40%.

Conclusion. Our results indicate that perceived symptoms in RA patients were not associated with education or gender, but suggest that patients´ perception of their illness was related to disease severity as evidenced by long disease duration, more disability and higher disease activity.