Frequency of depression and anxiety in patients attending a rheumatology clinic

This study was done to find out the frequency of anxiety and depression among patients with common rheumatic disorders and determine the possible relationship of different demographic and clinical variables with anxiety and depression.

Cross-sectional, analytical study.

The study was carried out at Fauji Foundation Hospital, Rawalpindi, during April to August 2006.

Patients attending the rheumatology outpatient department, with more than 2 years duration of rheumatic disorder were selected. A proforma regarding the demographic details was filled for all the patients. A physician made the assessment regarding the rheumatological disorder. Urdu version of Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was used to assess anxiety and depression. Clinical assessment was done by two psychiatrists according to International Classification of Diseases-10 (ICD-10). Data was analyzed on SPSS10 and p-value was calculated using Chi-square test as test of significance.

There were 108 patients mostly females (90%), mean age 44.7 + 11 years, majority (72%) were married and 51% were uneducated. Almost 80% of the patients had rheumatoid arthritis. Two-third of the patients had persistent symptoms. According to the HADS, scoring 56% of the patients had more than the cut off score for depression and 65.7% patients had scores falling in the category of cases. Regarding the clinical diagnosis, 42% of the patients were found to be depressed. Considering the factors which might be associated with depression or anxiety; only gender was found to be significantly associated with depression (p=0.03).

Depression and anxiety is high in patients being treated for chronic rheumatological disorders. A close liaison between rheumatologist and mental health professionals could prove beneficial for these patients.