Investigating the relationship between sleep quality and health indicators and disease activity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Sleep status is one of the most important components of health-related quality of life in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

This study aimed to investigate the correlation of sleep quality with health indicators and disease activity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

In this cross-sectional, analytical study, a total of 250 patients with rheumatoid arthritis, referred to the specialized rheumatology clinic of Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences (Sanandaj, Iran) during 2019-2020, using the Standard Questionnaires of Visual Analog Scale, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and the Multidimensional Questionnaire of Fatigue and Disease Activity. To analyze the data, Spearman's correlation test, independent t-test, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and multiple regression analysis were performed in SPSS-23.

A total of 42 male patients and 208 female patients with rheumatoid arthritis were included in this study. The sleep quality of 98% of the participants was inadequate. A higher pain intensity (P<0.001), higher disease activity (P<0.05) and depression and mental fatigue (P<0.01) were associated with the patients’ lower sleep quality.

The results of the present study revealed that depression and mental fatigue, pain intensity, and disease activity were associated with a lower sleep quality of patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Therapists are recommended to consider the sleep status of these patients, as well as the mentioned variables.