Burden and Disease Characteristics of Psoriatic Arthritis at a Tertiary Center

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) has a detrimental influence on the quality of life (QoL). The goal of this study was to evaluate the QoL of patients with PsA and its determinants at the King Abdulaziz University Hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

A cross-sectional study was conducted on 60 PsA patients. A questionnaire was used to collect data about their demographics. Assessment of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) was done by the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36). The Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy (FACIT)-Fatigue and the FACIT-General (FACIT-G) scales were used to assess fatigue. The Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI) was used to assess disease activity.

The mean age of the patients was 50.33 ± 11.15 years and 78.3% were females. The mean HRQOL, FACIT-G, FACIT, and BASDAI scores were 59.99 ± 34.67, 28.18 ± 5.95, 20.01 ± 9.68, and 4.05 ± 2.54, respectively. The HRQOL scores were found to have a highly significant negative correlation with both the FACIT and BASDAI scores, as well as the patients' age and BMI. The FACIT-G scores and the BASDAI scores, as well as the BASDAI scores and the FACIT scores, were found to have a strong positive correlation with age and BMI.

PsA has a significant detrimental influence on QoL, with a link between QoL and disease activity and fatigue. A greater understanding of QoL issues will help improve the quality of care.