Rheumatoid arthritis [RA]: a study of psychological symptoms in relation to various disease parameters

ABSTRACT

The sample consisted of 100 patients, including 60 rheumatoid arthritis [RA] patients and 40 patients with osteoarthritis [OA] of the knees as a comparative group, and represented newly diagnosed as well as chronic patients in different classes and stages of the disease. Thorough history taking, examination and investigations were done. The Arabic version of Symptom Check List-90-Revised [SCL-90-R] was used as a part of the psychological and psychiatric assessment of the patients. The findings showed that disability was the RA disease parameter that correlated mostly with depression, followed by the ESR, disease severity, duration, seropositivity and pain were not significantly correlated with any psychological factor. These findings were discussed in the light of the recent literature