Does a special relationship between personality and rheumatoid arthritis exist? Experiences with an Austrian Psychological Questionnaire

The aim of this study was to investigate whether the personalities of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) differ from those of non-rheumatologic patients. For the purpose of this study, the authors designed a psychological questionnaire, compiling relevant questions and impressions of several psychological questionnaires. A total of 226 patients (113 RA patients and 113 control persons (CO)) were asked to fill in the questionnaire assessing their psychological profile as well as demographic data on their family history. The control group consisted of healthy controls as well as scarcely affected individuals and chronically ill patients. The questionnaire was completed without any problems by 98% of patients. No statistical difference in any of the 26 questions was to be observed. Only the question concerning sibship revealed a trend towards single childhood in the RA group (p = 0.07). No differences between patients suffering from early RA and those in a later stage of the disease were revealed. There was no difference in the psychological profile of RA and CO detectable nor did disease duration or disability have an impact on the questionnaire's outcome. An interesting finding was the higher prevalence of single children in the RA group, although this difference did not reach statistical significance. This topic seems to be worth being addressed in a larger cohort of patients.