Personality and Humor Profiles in Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Latent Profile Analysis of Quality of Life and Medication...

Personality and humor styles are independently associated with mental health and health outcomes. However, the combined effects of these factors on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and medication adherence remain under-explored from a person-centered perspective. Understanding psychological profiles may help clinicians identify patients at risk for poor adjustment and suboptimal adherence.

The aim of this study was to identify latent profiles characterized by Extraversion, Neuroticism, self-enhancing humor, and self-defeating humor, specifically among patients diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The study further investigated whether an adaptive profile distinguished itself from others in terms of HRQoL and medication adherence to inform rheumatology practice.

A cross-sectional study was conducted with a clinical sample of 200 adults diagnosed with RA, recruited via convenience sampling from the outpatient rheumatology clinic of the University General Hospital of Patras "Panagia i Voithia", and the General Hospital of Patras "Agios Andreas". Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) was utilized to identify distinct psychological subgroups. Differences in distal outcomes were examined using linear regression models adjusting for age.

Four distinct and theoretically meaningful profiles emerged, accounting for significant variance in outcomes (R2=33.9% for mental HRQoL and 16.1% for adherence, representing moderate to large effect sizes). A profile characterized by high Extraversion and self-enhancing humor, combined with low Neuroticism and self-defeating humor, was identified as the most adaptive configuration. Notably, Neuroticism showed a strong and statistically significant negative association with mental HRQoL (r=-0.524, p<0.01), serving as a key distinguishing factor among the profiles. Planned comparisons indicated that the adaptive profile exhibited substantially higher mental HRQoL compared to other profiles, with more modest but significant advantages for physical HRQoL and medication adherence.

The study demonstrates that profiles defined by personality and humor are strongly associated with mental HRQoL in RA patients. These findings emphasize the importance of holistic psychological configurations and support the integration of psychological profiling as a clinically meaningful component of personalized, patient-centered rheumatology care.