[Evaluating of quality of life and functional status in patients with rheumatoid arthritis]

There is a growing worldwide interest for more information regarding morbidity and especially chronic diseases as well as the economical burden which it creates for the disabled individual and the society as a whole. Recently, increased attention has been paid to the scientific assessment of quality of life in chronically ill. Measures of physical and other abilities have shown a great prognostic value regarding disease outcomes. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, progressive, systemic inflammatory disease which negatively influences quality of life of patients. In rheumatology quality of life is assessed with two types of instruments: generic and specific. Current research has shown that specific measures are more sensitive to treatment induced changes in comparison with the generic measures. However, the choice of an instrument largely depends on the specific goal of the study. Both types of measures have shown strengths and weaknesses and they have been used simultaneously in order to provide a complex evaluation of quality of life.