The objective of this paper is to assess the contribution of disease activity, pain, and psychological factors to self-reported sleep disturbance in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and to evaluate whether depression mediates the effects of pain on sleep disturbance. The sample included 106 patients with confirmed RA participated in an assessment of their disease activity, pain, psychological functioning, and sleep disturbance during a baseline evaluation prior to participating in a prospective study to help them manage their RA. Self-measures included the Rapid Assessment of Disease Activity in Rheumatology (RADAR), the SF-36 Pain Scale, the Helplessness and Internality Subscales of the Arthritis Helplessness Index (AHI), the Active and Passive Pain Coping Scales of the Pain Management Inventory (PMI), the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Hierarchical multiple regression analysis confirmed that higher income, pain, internality, and depression contributed independently to higher sleep disturbance. A mediational analysis demonstrated that depression acted as a significant mechanism through which pain contributed to sleep disturbance. Cross-sectional findings indicate that pain and depression play significant roles in self-reported sleep disturbance among patients with RA. The data suggest the importance of interventions that target pain and depression to improve sleep in this medical condition.

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the factor structure of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The sample included 107 patients with RA, 88 females and seven males, with an average age of 56.09 years, recruited from the greater Southern California area. Confirmatory factor analysis evaluated single, two- and three-factor models. The single factor solution yielded a poor fit to the data. While the three-factor solution had the best fit, the two-factor solution, comprised of sleep efficiency and perceived sleep quality factors, was optimal because it had very good fit, and acceptable reliability for its individual factors. Clinical indices were consistently correlated with the sleep quality factor, but not with the sleep efficiency factor.

Objective To evaluate a multidimensional model testing disease activity, mood disturbance, and poor sleep quality as determinants of fatigue in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Method The data of 106 participants were drawn from baseline of a randomized comparative efficacy trial of psychosocial interventions for RA. Sets of reliable and valid measures were used to represent model constructs. Structural equation modeling was used to test the direct effects of disease activity, mood disturbance, and poor sleep quality on fatigue, as well as the indirect effects of disease activity as mediated by mood disturbance and poor sleep quality. Results The final model fit the data well, and the specified predictors explained 62% of the variance in fatigue. Higher levels of disease activity, mood disturbance, and poor sleep quality had direct effects on fatigue. Further, disease activity was indirectly related to fatigue through its effects on mood disturbance, which, in turn, was related to poor sleep quality. Mood disturbance also indirectly influenced fatigue through poor sleep quality. Conclusion The findings from this study confirmed the importance of a multidimensional framework in evaluating the contribution of disease activity, mood disturbance, and sleep quality to fatigue in RA using a structural equation approach. Mood disturbance and poor sleep quality played major roles in explaining fatigue along with patient-reported disease activity.

Objective To examine the relationships between physical, psychological, and social factors and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and disability in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods A sample of 106 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) completed measures of self-reported disease activity and psychosocial functioning, including coping, personal mastery, social network, perceived stress, illness beliefs, the SF-36 and Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index (HAQ-DI). In addition, physician-based assessment of disease activity using the Disease Activity Scale (DAS 28) was obtained. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were used to evaluate the relationships between psychosocial factors and scores on the SF-36 and HAQ-DI. Results Lower self-reported disease activity and higher active coping were significantly related to SF-36 physical functioning scores, whereas lower self-reported disease activity, higher personal mastery, and lower perceived stress contributed to higher SF-36 mental health functioning. Higher self-reported disease activity and lower helplessness were associated with greater disability as indexed by the HAQ-DI. The DAS 28 was unrelated to these outcomes. Conclusions The findings highlight the importance of targeting psychological factors to enhance HRQOL in the clinical management of RA patients.

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