title: Long-term changes in the quality of life of patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with biological therapies.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To analyze the changes in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treated with biological therapies.
  
  
  METHODS
  Observational prospective study performed from October 2006 to May 2011. The inclusion criteria were adult patients, diagnosed with RA, treated for at least one year with anti-tumor necrosis factor therapy (infliximab or etanercept), who had not received other biological treatments previously. A total of 41 patients who completed the study undertook the specific and validated questionnaire QoL-RA Scale 3 times: E1 (September 2006-February 2007), E2 (April 2008-January 2009) and E3 (July 2010- May 2011). Data analysis was conducted using Epi-Info version 3.3 2004 for Windows® and Excel 2007; mean comparisons were evaluated by Student's t-test and the relationship between the 3 outcomes for each patient by lineal regression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall results show a downward trend which was not statistically significant: 7.09 (standard deviation [SD]=1.15) in E1; 6.90 (SD=1.60) in E2; and 6.52 (SD=1.59) in E3. Items with higher scores were those related to psychosocial aspects (help from family, interaction with family and friends), whereas the physical dimension was valued more poorly (physical ability, arthritis pain, arthritis). Between E2 and E3 there was a significant increase in help from family (P=.0008), whereas level of tension (P=.0119) and mood (P=.0451) decreased significantly.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In all, HRQoL reported by patients is good and has remained unchanged after approximately 6 years of study. The stability of HRQoL is probably partly attributable to treatment.
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Farmacia, Complejo Asistencial Universitario de León, León, España. Electronic address: lortegav@saludcastillayleon.es.
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ortega-Valín
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Farmacia, Complejo Asistencial Universitario de León, León, España.
authors.forename: Isabel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Mayorga-Bajo
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Farmacia, Complejo Asistencial Universitario de León, León, España.
authors.forename: Carolina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Prieto-Fernández
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Farmacia, Hospital San Juan de Dios, León, España.
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Del Pozo-Ruiz
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Farmacia, Complejo Asistencial Universitario de León, León, España.
authors.forename: Esperanza
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gutiérrez-Gutiérrez
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Reumatología, Complejo Asistencial Universitario de León, León, España.
authors.forename: Trinidad
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pérez-Sandoval
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D018501:Antirheumatic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000188:drug therapy*; D000068800:Etanercept / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D000069285:Infliximab / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D018501:Antirheumatic Agents; D000069285:Infliximab; D000068800:Etanercept
keywords: Artritis reumatoide; Biological therapy; Calidad de vida; Etanercept; Infliximab; Quality of life; Rheumatoid arthritis; Terapia biológica