Pain as an important predictor of psychosocial health in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

OBJECTIVE: To examine the evolution of psychosocial aspects of health-related quality of life in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients, and to identify their predictors. METHODS: All patients within a Swiss RA cohort and a US RA cohort who completed a Short Form 36 (SF-36) scale at least twice within a 4-year period were included. The primary outcome was psychosocial health as measured by the mental component summary (MCS) score of the SF-36. The …