Quality of life in Turkish patients with Familial Mediterranean Fever: Association with fatigue, psychological status, disease severity and other clinical parameters

Aim of the work: To evaluate the quality of life (QoL) in Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF) patients, and determine its association with fatigue, depression, disease severity and other clinical parameters. Patients and methods: Sixty FMF patients were included. QoL was assessed by Short Form-36 (SF-36), depression by Hamilton Depression Scale (HDS), and fatigue by Fatigue severity scale (FSS). Disease severity score and Mutations of the Mediterranean fever (MEFV) gene were assessed. Results: The mean age of patients was 33.73±9.81 years and disease duration 14.6±12.1 years. They were 35 females and 25 males. FMF patients scored significantly higher in FSS (29.9±17.6) and HDS (15.1±8.5) compared to the control (10.6±7.1 and 6.3±9.4; p<0.0001 respectively) while all SF36 sub-items except mental health were significantly lower (p<0.05). MEFV gene mutation was present in 49 (81.7%) patients. The visual analogue scale of pain significantly negatively correlated with the FSS (p<0.0001), HDS (p<0.0001) and all SF36 sub-items except mental health (p<0.0001). Disease duration, age of onset, and duration of attacks showed no significant correlation with FSS, HDS and SF36. Delay in diagnosis significantly correlated with FSS (p<0.0001) and negatively with SF36 sub-items physical role (p=0.02), general health (p=0.01) and social functioning (p=0.03). Age of diagnosis significantly correlated with FSS (p=0.03) and negatively with SF36-vitality (p=0.047). There was a significant effect of disease severity on QoL, fatigue and depression (p<0.05). Conclusion: QoL is associated with fatigue, depression and disease severity in FMF patients. It should be used in routine clinical evaluation as an outcome measure in FMF.