Perception of quality of life related with health in patients with hand osteoarthritis

Introduction: hand osteoarthritis is a degenerative illness that may frequently course without knowing the affectation that takes place to the perception of the quality of life related with the health of the patients that suffer it. Objective: to evaluate the perception of the quality of life related with health in patients with hand osteoarthritis. Methodology: a descriptive study. For the positive diagnosis the approaches of the ACR were kept in mind. The demographic variable partner was described obtained through a survey that contained so much clinical elements as radiological useful to confirm the diagnosis of the illness. Questionnaires were applied to determine the perception of the quality of life related with health and the functional capacity as the coop/wonca sheets, the HAQ-CU and the questionnaire Dreiser, modified by Lequesne. Results: the average age was of 54.74 years old with an age of onset of symptoms at 47.23 years old, the greatest incidence as for gender corresponded to the feminine one with 83.33 %. The most frequent time evolution was the one understood between 1 and 5 years. 47.29 % of the patients presented a comorbility and/or a noxious habit associated. The global sum of the dimensions was of 18.95. Only a 20.15 % of the patients didn't present incapacity and there was a prevalence of patients with slight incapacity. Conclusions: the increase of the time of evolution of the illness as well as the comorbility presence influence negatively in the perception of the quality of life related with the health of the patients with hand arthritis, which causes physical incapacity in the patients that suffer from it.