Impairment of quality of life: rheumatoid arthritis versus sarcoidosis

Background: Quality of life (QOL) has become an important item in health care. QOL should be a major target of treatment in chronic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and sarcoidosis. The aim of this study was to compare the impact of RA and sarcoidosis on patients' QOL. We expected more serious impairment of QOL in the RA group than in the sarcoidosis group. Methods: QOL was studied in RA patients (12 = 32), sarcoidosis patients (n = 37), and a healthy control group (n = 37) employing the World Health Organization Quality of Life assessment instrument (WHOQOL-100). Results: In both patient groups QOL was impaired with respect to Physical Health, Level of Independence (P < 0.001), and Overall QOL and General Health (P < 0.01). Moreover, RA patients appeared to have a lower QOL with respect to Pain and Discomfort (P < 0.001) and Mobility (P < 0.001). Conclusions: In RA and sarcoidosis, fatigue and sleep were major problems. In contrast to our expectations, with respect to activities of daily living and working capacity, the two patient groups did not show any difference. Impairment of QOL was more serious and included more aspects of QOL in RA than in sarcoidosis. (See Editorial p, 83,) (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.