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Background and purpose: In recent years quality of life is regarded an important issue in both health and clinical investigations. Many instruments such as SF-36 were provided for assessing quality of life in general population and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. The purpose of this article was to determine the quality of life in patients with RA in west of Mazandaran. Material and methods: This cross-sectional study was performed in 165 RA patients attending rheumatology clinics in Ramsar and Tonekabon who were selected by random sampling. Data was collected through self-reports, interview and observation. The SF-36 Persian version questionnaire of quality of life including 8 components was completed. Data was analyzed in SPPS V.17 applying descriptive statistics and T-test, ANOVA and Regression analysis. Results: Among the subjects 145 (87.9%) were female, 126 (76.3%) were urban, and 140 (84.8%) were married. Mean age of the patients was 51.5 years. Mean of physical function, vitality and general health were different between male and female but in other components no significant differences were observed. Mean of quality of life in bodily pain (BP), physical role and general health in women were lower than other components. No significant differences were seen in urban and rural women regarding the studied components. We found significant correlations between age and the studied components, however, this correlation was not found for emotional role and BP (p<0.05). Correlation and regression analyses have shown that duration of disease and age were negatively correlated with all components of quality of life (r= -0.32 to -0.22). Conclusion: This study showed RA patients with low scores in physical components and higher scores in mental and social components. Quality of life is highly influenced by chronic RA, therefore, it is necessary to have appropriate plans in order to improve the patients’ quality of life by controlling the disease and its side effects.

Keywords: Rheumatoid arthritis, quality of life, SF-36

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