Effect of fatigue on quality of life in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: the chain mediating role of resilience and self-efficacy

Exploring the effect of resilience and self-efficacy in mediating the chain between fatigue and quality of life(QOL) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

From June 2022 to November 2022, 423 RA patients were chosen by a convenience sample method from two tertiary care facilities in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. General Information Questionnaire, Bristol Multidimensional Scale of Fatigue in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis, SF−12 Health Survey Short Form, Chinese version of the ten-item psychological Resilience Scale, and Chinese-language Arthritis Self-Efficacy Scale, an 8-element version, were among the questionnaires used.

In the physical component summary( PCS), self-efficacy, psychological resilience, and self-efficacy were all significantly mediated by fatigue (total effect mediated 8.88%). In the mental component summary (MCS), fatigue (total effect mediated 10.79%), self-efficacy (total effect mediated 8.99%), psychological resilience, and self-efficacy (total effect mediated 2.01%) were all significantly mediated by fatigue.

Fatigue in RA patients can affect the quality of life both directly and indirectly through the mediating effects of psychological resilience, self-efficacy, and the chain mediating effect of psychological resilience-self-efficacy.