Quality of Life and Disability in Chikungunya Arthritis

Abstract

Background: Chikungunya virus infection, transmitted by Aedes mosquito vectors, causes outbreaks of chikungunya fever (CHIKF), throughout the tropical and subtropical world. Following acute infection, many CHIKF patients develop a second phase, chronic and disabling ar-thritis. Objective: To evaluate the impact of chikungunya arthritis (CHIKA) on quality of life and disability in a cohort of Brazilian CHIKA patients. Methods: We conducted a descriptive, non-interventionist, retrospective cross-sectional study ana-lysing data collected from the medical records of chikungunya virus-infected patients treated be-tween June 1, 2022, and June 30, 2022, in the Brazilian rheumatology clinic of one of us (JKA). To assess disability, quality of life, and pain, patients were evaluated using the Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index (HAQ-DI), 12-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12), and Visual Analog Scale (VAS) pain. Results: Forty-two women with a mean (± SD) age of 57.83 (± 13.05) years had CHIKF confirmed by chikungunya-specific serology. The mean (± SD) time between the onset of chikungunya sym-ptoms and the first clinic visit was 55.19 (± 25.88) days. At this visit, the mean (± SD) VAS pain score and DAS28-ESR were 77.26 (± 23.71) and 5.8 (± 1.29), respectively. The mean (± SD) HAQ-DI score was 1.52 (± 0.67). The mean (± SD) SF-12 PCS-12 was 29.57 (± 8.62) and SF-12 MCS-12 was 38.42 (± 9.85). Conclusion: CHIKA is often highly disabling. As the mosquito vectors that transmit this illness ha-ve spread to every continent except Antarctica, there is a potential for widespread public health im-pact from CHIKA and the need for more effective, early intervention to prevent CHIKA.