Evaluation of disease activity, quality of life, depression, anxiety, and motivation for researching diseases on the internet in patients with ankylosing spondylitis

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS); it is a chronic, inflammatory disease that affects young adults with the sacroiliac joints and the axial spine, the etiology of which is unknown, and may be accompanied by peripheral joint involvement and extra-articular clinical findings. The aim of this study is to investigate and evaluate the relationship between disease activity, depression, anxiety and quality of life in patients with AS and their motivation to search for diseases from the internet. 120 patients who were followed up with the diagnosis of AS in Bursa Uludağ University Rheumatology Outpatient Clinic were included in our study. Participants were cross-sectionally seen once; patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis were evaluated using the Sociodemographic Data Form, Ankylosing Spondylitis Quality of Life Scale (ASQoL), Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A), Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D), Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI), Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Scale (BASFI), Internet Research Motivation Evaluation Form (ASHIAM). In the study, it was seen that AS patients who did research on the disease on the internet were younger than those who did not, had higher HAM-D scores, and more individuals with psychiatric diagnoses in their families. It was observed that there was a significant and positive correlation between disease duration, age, CRP, ESH levels and BASFI levels. It was observed that ASHIAM sub-dimensions were positively and significantly correlated with the age of onset of the disease, ASQOL and BASDAI values. It was observed that there was a significant and positive correlation between the total time of searching the internet per week and the levels of HAM-A, HAM-D, ASQOL, BASDAI, BASFI.It has been observed that AS patients doing research on the internet has positive and negative effects on their disease activities, quality of life, and psychological state. It is a study that will reveal the importance of this issue in terms of patient management, and it is expected to lead to more studies that will reveal the importance of the internet research factor in the management of patients.