[Depressive tendency in patients with RA]

To determine if depression scores are higher in patients with RA and to identify risk factors for depression.

The subjects were 287 RA in-patients and outpatients. We investigated the tendency of depression by SDS of Zung and whether SDS is correlated with age, face scale, VAS (visual analog scale), MHAQ, class, BSG and CRP. We compared the frequency of depression tendency between those who took steroid and those who did not. Among 238 cases that we studied, 131 patients took steroid hormone and the rest did not.

It was found that 113 out of 287 patients (about 39%) showed depression tendency. SDS was correlated with face scale (r = 0.55198 P = 0.0001) followed by VAS (r = 0.40772 P = 0.0001). However, SDS was not correlated with BSG, CRP, age and duration range. For the group who took steroid hormone, the average score of SDS was 38.63 (+/- 8.37). The average score for the other group who did not take steroid was 35.98 (+/- 7.97). As a result, it was measured by T-value that the group who took steroid hormone had higher SDS than the other group who did not take steroid.