People with arthritis who have an additional condition have worse quality of life than those with arthritis alone

Arthritis comorbidities – including diabetes, heart disease and obesity – can cause a greater impact on quality of life, outlines a study published in Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology Online.
A total of 159 people with rheumatoid arthritis and 149 people with osteoarthritis answered questions about their arthritis severity, other conditions they have and sociodemographic variables. Health related quality of life scores were compared with healthy people.
People with rheumatoid and osteoarthritis were found to experience worse health related quality of life scores across all metrics when compared to the general US population. But a higher comorbidity count was associated with worse physical and mental health scores, even after taking into account age, gender, education and arthritis severity.
“Arthritis patients with more chronic comorbid conditions may be at particular risk for poor physical and mental health,” the researchers say. “Providers should discuss management of comorbid conditions with arthritis patients.”

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Image credit: Lindsey Bieda