[Relationship Between Anxious-Depressive Symptoms, Disease Activity, and Level of Disability in Patients with...

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic disease that can affect the physical and psychosocial aspects of those who suffer from it. The coexistence of RA and mood disorders is recognized; however, there is no fully defined causal relationship.

To relate the presence of depressive anxiety symptoms with disease activity and level of disability in patients with RA.

Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ), Disease Activity Score-28 (DAS28), Clinical Disease Activity Index (CDAI) and Simplified Disease Activity (SDAI) were applied. Different statistical tests were used to determine the relationship between the variables.

122 patients with RA were studied and 46% (n= 56) presented symptoms of anxiety and/or depression. The mean DAS28 in patients without anxious and depressive symptoms was 2.75 and in patients with anxious and depressive symptoms was 4.33 (p <0.001). The mean SDAI in patients without anxious and depressive symptoms was 7.5 and in patients with anxious and/or depressive symptoms was 17 (p<0.001). The mean CDAI in patients without anxious and depressive symptoms was 7 and in patients with anxious and/or depressive symptoms was 15 (p<0.001). The mean HAQ in patients without anxious and depressive symptoms was 0.29 and the mean HAQ in patients with anxious and/or depressive symptoms was 1.18 (p< 0.001).

About half of the patients with RA presented symptoms of depression and/or anxiety. Disease activity was significantly higher in patients with symptoms of depression and/ or anxiety, as was the level of disability measured by HAQ.