Age, Cognitive Factors, and Acceptance of Living with the Disease in Rheumatoid Arthritis: The Short-Term Perspective

Abstract

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory disease leading to disability, reduced quality of life, and severe depressive symptoms. Theoretical models and research emphasize the importance of cognitive factors such as illness-related beliefs and cognitive appraisals in the process of adapting to life with a chronic disease. Objectives: The aim of this study was to analyze the role of age, disease duration, and cognitive factors in the level of acceptance of life with rheumatoid arthritis and determine the factors responsible for short-term (one week) changes without the use of interventions. We also assessed differences in predictors between rheumatoid arthritis, vascular diseases, and diabetes. Methods: Data were collected using a panel study. The first part of the analysis included 83 participants who declared a medical diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis. In the second part of the analysis, in addition to people with rheumatoid arthritis (69 participants), two control groups were also included: diabetes (n = 26) and vascular disease (n = 26). The analysis examined basic sociodemographic and clinical data, cognitive appraisals, illness-related beliefs, and acceptance of living with the disease twice in one week. Results: The relationship between age and levels of acceptance of living with the disease was cubic, but the groups distinguished based on age and disease duration did not differ in terms of the analyzed variables. Cognitive appraisals (both baseline and changes over one week) were responsible for changes in acceptance of living with the disease, although other variables (sociodemographic, clinical, and illness-related beliefs) also played a role. The predictors of change in acceptance of living with the disease differed between analyzed diagnoses. Conclusions: Cognitive factors are an important aspect of the adaptation process to living with an illness. Potential clinical applications and future directions of research are discussed.

The role of cognitive appraisals and illness-related beliefs in adaptation to life with rheumatoid arthritis: variable- and person-centered approach

“…Illness-Related Appraisals Scale-Revised: (IRAS-R; Pankowski et al, 2021a) is a self-report scale consisting of 30 statements reflecting facets of various cognitive appraisals related to disease.. The tool consists of 6 thematic scales, each measuring a conceptually distinct cognitive appraisal: Loss (5 items; α = 0.93), Harm (5 items; α = 0.95), Benefit (5 items; α = 0.9), Challenge (5 items; α = 0.89), Value (5 items; α = 0.9) and Threat (5 items; α = 0.94).…”

“…The first version has been revised to enhance the psychometric properties: an article covering this issue is currently under preparation. The complete tool is available in Appendix 1 and on the OSF website (Pankowski et al, 2021a).…”

“…The Illness-Related Beliefs Scale (IRBS; Pankowski et al, 2021b) is a self-report instrument developed to assess the intensity of a patient's personal beliefs pertaining to the key aspects of their chronic disease. The measure includes 13 pairs of IRBs expressed in the form of statements.…”

“…Each belief is expressed on a continuum ranging from a negative to a positive extreme; respondents are requested to locate their own personal belief somewhere along this continuum using a 1-10 response scale. The complete tool is available in Appendix 2 and on the OSF website (Pankowski et al, 2021b).…”

Computational analysis to investigate the anti-rheumatic potential of plant-based small molecule inhibitor targeting tumor necrosis factor α

“…Although the etiology of the disease is not yet known, studies demonstrate a connection between RA with genetic susceptibility and environmental factors. Other factors that play a major role in the onset of the disease include age, a positive family history, silicate exposure, disease duration, smoking habits, immunological triggers, and psychological factors ( Pankowski et al, 2022 ). RA is one of the highly predominant inflammatory diseases ranging from 0.1% to 2% worldwide adult population.…”