Health-related quality of life in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: assessment by a Italian version of the Arthritis Impact Measurement Scales, Version 2 (AIMS2)

The research carried out by Censis Foundation, in collaboration with SIR (Italian Society of Rheumatology) and AN-MAR (National association of rheumatic patients) involved 646 patients, diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) by a rheumatologist according to ACR criteria. The patients were recruited through a representative sample of 300 general practitioners (GP). A cross-sectional survey was conducted to study the current status of health-related quality of life (HRQL) of patients using a revised Italian version of a revised version of the Arthritis Impact Measurement Scales 2 (AIMS2). The AIMS2 was administered to the 646 patients with (RA) attending arthritis clinics at various hospitals across the country. Self-report functional disability scores were calculated for all 12 specific scales, summary components, and overall impact measures. The AIMS2 has been validated for the Italian language. Ranging from 0 (perfect health) to 10 (poor health), the mean scores of the AIMS2 showed an important impact of the disease on the 4 components of the health status of these patients: walking and bending, mean score = 5.1; nervous tension = 5.0, arthritis pain = 5.0, and social activity = 4.6. Among other dimensions, the impact of RA was moderate for mood, work, hand and finger function and mobility (mean score: 3.7, 3.7, 3.5 and 3.4, respectively) and low for household tasks, arm function, self-care tasks and family support (3.0, 2.9, 2.5 and 2.1, respectively). There was a tendency for the scores of younger patients to be better than those of olders patients. In conclusion, RA have a clearly detrimental effect on the HRQL in both physical and mental components. Prevention and management of physical disability should be seriously planned in consideration of the changes in these conditions in RA patients. Use of the AIMS2 makes it easier and less costly to collect data and reduces the burden on RA patients.