Comorbidity type affects quality of life in PsA patients

The type of comorbidity, rather than its number, appears to have a greater impact on the quality of life (QoL) of patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA), a recent study has found.

For instance, anxiety in PsA independently correlates with QoL and may be a significant factor to consider in daily clinical practice, according to the researchers.

This analysis included patients from a multicentric, cross-sectional study on comorbidities in PsA. The researchers collected data on patient comorbidities and subsequently used these to compute the modified Rheumatic Disease Comorbidity Index (mRDCI). QoL was gauged using the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36 questionnaire physical (PCS) and mental component summary (MCS) scales.

A total of 124 patients (mean age, 52.6±12.6 years) met the Classification for Psoriatic Arthritis criteria (CASPAR), of whom 62.1 percent were male. Median disease duration was 11.3±9.6 years. On average, patients had 2.0±1.3 comorbid conditions, while 30.6 percent have currently or a history of ≥3 comorbidities.

Multivariable linear regression analysis revealed that only anxiety was significantly associated with mental health (p<0.0001), accounting for 28.7 percent of the variance in MCS scores. In addition, MCS significantly correlated with the mRDCI score, which explained 4.9 percent of the variance in MCS (β, –1.56; R², 0.049; p=0.0167). On the other hand, PCS had a significant correlation with neither type nor number of comorbidities.

“In PsA, comorbidities add to the burden of disease, which may lead to poorer quality of life,” the researchers said.