Many Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients Reluctant to Change Treatment

Several new rheumatoid arthritis treatments became available within the last decade and more are in development. Researchers from the National Data Bank for Rheumatic Diseases used an 11-item questionnaire to gauge the treatment preferences of over 6,000 rheumatoid arthritis patients. The study assessed patients' acceptance and satisfaction with their current treatment, willingness to change treatments, and reasons for not wanting to change.

The results, published in the July 2007 issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism, are interesting when you consider the advancements which have been made in treatment options. Of the rheumatoid arthritis patients who responded to the questionnaire:

* 63.8 percent would not want to change treatments if their condition did not worsen
* 77.3 percent were satisfied with their medications
* 9.4 percent were dissatisfied with their medications

During the past 6 months, 22.4 percent of the patients had experienced side effects related to their treatment. More than 65 percent of the patients had experienced side effects at some point in their life. The fear of side effects and fear of losing control over their condition were primary concerns attributed to an unwillingness to change treatment course.

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Maintaining their current status was given more priority than potential future improvement for many of the patients. There was little difference in the responses of patients who were receiving treatment with a biologic drug and patients who were not. Disease activity and ability to function did not correlate with how satisfied patients were with their treatment. The research revealed that patients were largely focused on not getting worse.
source:arthritis.about.com