Depression, anxiety and rheumatoid arthritis activity

The temporal relationship of rheumatoid arthritis activity and mood has rarely been studied and the findings have been unclear. This study focuses on this problem in a prospective, multiple assessment design. Depression, anxiety, and rheumatoid arthritis (R.A.) variables were assessed weekly during hospitalization and monthly for six months after discharge in a sample of 39 patients. Evidence was found for a relationship between depression and increased R.A. activity occurring in association with clinically relevant R.A. related events such as flare-ups leading to hospitalization, improvement resulting from hospitalization, and adjustment after discharge. No evidence was found for relationships between depression, anxiety, and less dramatic changes in R.A. variables occurring during regular weekly in-hospital and monthly post-hospital assessments. The results demonstrate the inadequacy of assessments done at one point in time and also suggest that somatic complaints such as reduced energy, disturbed sleep or poor appetite may be associated as much with depression as R.A. activity.