[Health-related quality of life and chronic pain experience in rheumatic diseases].
OBJECTIVE
To assess differences among health-related quality of life, pain threshold and perception,and passive coping strategies with chronic pain(specifically retreating, worrying, and resting), as well as associations among variables in three groups of rheumatic patients - fibromyalgia (FM),rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and osteoarthritis (OA).


METHODS
86 participants diagnosed with FM (n = 25), RA (n = 31) and OA (n = 30) completed the following measures: Clinical and Sociodemographic Questionnaire (QSDC), Medical Outcomes Study 36-item Short Form Health Survey(SF-36v2), Pain Coping Inventory (PCI), visual analogic scale (VAS) for pain, and dolorimeter for threshold pain. SPSS software was used to perform statistical analyses.


RESULTS
FM patients reported the lowest levels of quality of life and threshold pain, as well as the highest levels of pain perception and passive coping with chronic pain. Associations between variables support that experience with chronic pain is managed more successfully in OA patients, followed by RA patients and, finally, by FM patients.


CONCLUSIONS
Our findings support the adoption ofa biopsychosocial model for assessment and intervention with rheumatic patients, considering specificities associated to each illness.
Oliveira
Paula
P
Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da Educação da Universidade do Porto. pjoliveira@fpce.up.pt
Monteiro
Paulo
P
Coutinho
Margarida
M
Salvador
Maria João
MJ
Costa
Maria Emília
ME
Malcata
Armando
A
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000150:complications*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D005356:Fibromyalgia / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010003:Osteoarthritis / Q000150:complications*; D010146:Pain / Q000209:etiology*; D011788:Quality of Life; D055815:Young Adult