Owning Pets Reduces the Perception of Disease Activity in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a chronic inflammatory systemic disease, often experience a decreased quality of life and social isolation due to pain, fatigue, functional disability, and depressive symptoms. 1,2 These conditions often extend beyond pharmacological treatment and therefore place emphasis on the importance of patient self-management strategies to deal with these negative effects throughout the disease course. 3 .