ABSTRACT

Objective: To measure the effects of depression and anxiety on quality of life (QoL) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), knee osteoarthritis (OA) and fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS).

Methods: One hundred and fifty-four patients with RA, knee OA, and FMS who presented to the physical medicine and rehabilitation department were studied. For evaluation of the patients, Beck depression scale, Beck anxiety scale, and Short Form-36 were used.

Results: Twenty-two per cent of patients (n = 34) were diagnosed with of RA, 52.6% (n = 81) knee OA and 25.3% (n = 39) FMS. Except for the subscales, of physical and emotional role, there were statistically significant differences among diagnostic groups in the rest of the SF-36 subscales. In the physical functioning subscale, the highest score was obtained in the fibromyalgia group and the lowest in the RA group (p < 0.001). However, in the bodily pain subscale, the lowest score was recorded in the fibromyalgia group (p = 0.019). In all diagnostic groups, the scores of SF-36 subscales were significantly low in patients who scored above the threshold value of Beck depression scale (p < 0.001). A strong negative correlation was detected between scores of Beck anxiety scale and the scores of all SF-36 subscales in patients with RA and knee OA. On the other hand, in patients with FMS, anxiety scores correlated negatively with only physical and somatic function scores of SF-36.

Conclusion: Quality of life is significantly low in patients with RA, knee OA and FMS, whose depression and/or anxiety scores are high. Therefore, these patients should be managed using a multidisciplinary approach including psychiatric support.