title: Women with rheumatoid arthritis: non-vocational activities and quality of life.
abstract: The aim of this study was to examine a possible relationship between partaking in non-vocational activities and health-related quality of life in women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Two questionnaires were completed by 45 women with RA aged from 25 to 80. The MOS Short-Form 36 (SF-36) measured the health-related quality of life and the Interest Checklist measured the amount of non-vocational activities performed. The present study revealed a significant decrease in non-vocational activities by the participants during the last 10 years. Mental health status seemed to be of greater importance than physical function to perform non-vocational activities in daily life. There were indications that a high number of activities performed correlated positively with scores on psychological well-being, and that a low amount of activities performed correlated with the psychological distress scores.
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Health Education and Social Work, Sör-Tröndelag University College, Trondheim, Norway. Lillian.Reinseth@hist.no
authors.forename: Lillian
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Reinseth
authors.forename: Geir Arild
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Espnes
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life