Association of Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms in Patients with Adhesive Capsulitis

Objective  The present study aimed to assess the association between anxiety and depression symptoms in patients with adhesive capsulitis. Methods  This was a cross-sectional study carried out in a single center from a tertiary hospital with patients presenting with secondary adhesive capsulitis. The control group did not have shoulder disease, thyroid disease, anxiety, and/or depression. The instrument used was the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). An analysis of covariance compared HADS scores between groups. The significance level was 5%. Results  The final sample consisted of 17 patients (case group) and 27 (control group). The Shapiro-Wilk test revealed normal distribution ( p  > 0.05). A HADS score > 0.70 (Cronbach alpha) was reliable and presented good internal consistency. Patients with adhesive capsulitis reported "doubtful" (average/standard deviation = 8.88/4.50) "anxious symptoms" ( p  = 0.019) but no "depressive symptoms" (average/standard deviation = 6.41/3.69), despite p  = 0.015. Conclusion  There is a "doubtful" positive association between anxiety symptoms and adhesive capsulitis but a negative association with depressive symptoms.