Factors Influencing Fatigue in Women with Rheumatoid Arthritis

여성 류마티스 관절염 환자의 피로 요인에 관한 연구

The purposes of this study were to identify the prevalence of fatigue. and factors influencing fatigue in women with rheumatoid arthritis. The subjects were 124 patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Most of all patients felt fatigue and mean score measured by Multidimensional Assessment of Fatigue was relatirely high. Fatigue was positively correlated with pain intensity, the number of pain sites, functional disability, depression. and sleep quality. A hierachical regression model was used to determine the variance which accounts for fatigue. Pain intensity, depression. sleep quality accounted for fatigue significantly. This finding indicates that pain influences fatigue through depression and sleep quality ; depression through sleep quality. The causative factors could be identified by further study of structural eqation model.