The impact of disease activity and psychological status on quality of life for Chinese patients with primary Sjögren’s syndrome

• Main Authors: Cui Y, Li L, Xia L, Zhao Q, Chen S, Fu T, Ji J, Gu Z
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dove Medical Press 2018-08-01
• Series: Patient Preference and Adherence
• Subjects: Primary Sjögren’s syndrome; Quality of life; Disease activity; Depression
• Online Access: https://www.dovepress.com/the-impact-of-disease-activity-and-psychological-status-on-quality-of--peer-reviewed-article-PPA
• ISSN: 1177-889X

Yafei Cui,1–3,* Lin Li,2,4,* Ling Xia,1,* Qian Zhao,2 Shengnan Chen,2 Ting Fu,1 Juan Ji,1 Zhifeng Gu1 1Department of Rheumatology, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong, China; 2School of Nursing, Nantong University, Nantong, China; 3Department of Nursing, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China; 4Department of Nursing, Changzhou 2nd People’s Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Changzhou, China *These authors contributed equally to this work Objective: The primary purpose of the present study was to survey the quality of life (QoL) in primary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS) and to analyze the relationships between disease activity, anxiety/depression, fatigue, pain, age, oral disorders, impaired swallowing, sicca symptoms, and QoL.Patients and methods: A survey was conducted on 185 pSS patients and 168 healthy individuals using the Short Form 36 health survey for QoL. Disease activity was assessed using the European League Against Rheumatism Sjögren’s Syndrome Disease Activity Index. We examined these data using independent samples t-tests, Mann–Whitney U test, chi squared analysis, and linear regression.Results: The result for each domain in Short Form 36 health survey was lower in pSS patients than in healthy controls, especially the score in the dimension of role physical function. In the bivariate analysis, age, pain, fatigue, disease activity, disease complication, anxiety/depression, oral disorders, and impaired swallowing correlated with QoL. Also, in the linear regression model, pain, fatigue, disease activity, impaired swallowing, and anxiety/depression remained the main predictors of QoL.Conclusion: pSS patients had a considerably impaired QoL compared to the controls, and pSS could negatively affect the QoL of patients. Measuring QoL should be considered as a vital part of the comprehensive evaluation of the health status of pSS patients, which could contribute some valuable clues in improving the management of disease and treatment decisions. Keywords: primary Sjögren’s syndrome, quality of life, disease activity, depression