Compliancy in splint-wearing behaviour of patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Forty-six patients with rheumatoid arthritis affecting their hands were questioned to establish whether or not they complied with the medical specialist's instructions about wearing splints. Only one-third of the patients appeared to comply. A high extraversion score (measured on the EPI questionnnaire) identified half of the patients who did not comply. All patients scored significantly lower then the population norm on the introversion-extraversion dimension, indicating that this dimension may be involved in the psychosomatic aspect of rheumatoid arthritis.