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Abstract Number: 2673

Association Between Anxiety and Depression and Rheumatoid Disease Severity: Results from an Established Rheumatoid Arthritis Cohort

Faith Matcham1, Sam Norton2,3, Nicola Goodson4, Samantha Hider5, Matthew Hotopf6 and James Galloway7, 1Psychological Medicine Clinical Academic Group, King's College London, London, United Kingdom, 2Department of Psychological Medicine, King´s College London, London, United Kingdom, 3Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, United Kingdom, 4Rheumatology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom, 5Research Institute for Primary Care and Health Sciences, Keele University, Keele, United Kingdom, 6Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom, 7Academic Department of Rheumatology, King´s College London, London, United Kingdom

Meeting: 2015 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting

Date of first publication: September 29, 2015

Keywords: Depression and rheumatoid arthritis (RA)

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Session Information

Date: Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Title: Rheumatoid Arthritis - Clinical Aspects Poster Session III

Session Type: ACR Poster Session C

Session Time: 9:00AM-11:00AM

Background/Purpose:

Depression is highly prevalent in
RA. In trials, depression has been found to be associated with higher disease
activity and impaired treatment response. However data are limited and subject to
methodological limitations such as being derived from highly selected trial
populations. Our aim was to examine the long-term association between
depression and RA disease outcomes in routine care.

Methods:

Data were collected using
electronic records from an inner city hospital in London, UK. The presence of
depression/anxiety was identified using PHQ9 and GAD7 respectively. Patients
were included in this analysis if they had completed a PHQ9/GAD7 on at least 2
occasions. The first ever PHQ9/GAD7 record was taken as the baseline visit.
Follow up included all visit information over the subsequent 12-months. The
relationship between anxiety/depression and DAS outcome was analysed using two
approaches: 1) we calculated the likelihood of an individual achieving
remission during follow up using Cox proportional hazards, adjusted for age,
gender, disease duration and disease activity; 2) we modelled DAS trajectory
using generalised estimating equations (GEE).

Results:

From a total cohort of 1,375, 385
patients were eligible for analysis. The mean age was 59 (SD 15), with 81%
female (see table). At baseline, depression/anxiety were associated with higher
disease activity and disability. The presence of depression/anxiety at baseline
was associated with significantly higher disease activity throughout follow-up
(b= 0.92, SE= 0.15, p<0.001, 95%CI: 0.53 to 1.21), after adjusting for age,
gender and disease duration. Using a GEE model DAS was significantly higher for
patients with anxiety or depression (b=.85; 95% CI:.54
to 1.16), but reduced slightly over time (b/year=-.11 95% CI: -.21 to -.01).
This change may reflect more aggressive treatment of patients with anxiety or
depression that have higher DAS, the correlation between a change in DAS and
anxiety or depression status of r=.28. Patients with
baseline anxiety or depression were less likely to attain a state of remission
(adjusted hazard ratio: 0.51, 95%CI: 0.35 to 0.75). 

Conclusion:

Our data reveal a high prevalence
of psychological comorbidity in RA. The presence of depression/anxiety
associated with larger differences in patient reported components of outcomes
(tender joint count, patient global, HAQ) than objective measures. Patients
with baseline anxiety/depression had higher disease activity that remained high
during follow up. Comparing change in DAS over time revealed no material
difference in the DAS trajectory in patients with or without anxiety or
depression. It is clear that psychological factors are linked to the clinical
outcome measures used in rheumatology. However, how depression/anxiety
influence prognosis is unclear.

Table

No anxiety/

depression

Probable anxiety/

depression

p-value*

Total = 385

N

279

106

Age

Mean(SD)

59 (15)

57 (15)

0.27

Female gender

n(%)

223 (80)

88 (83)

0.49

Seropositive

n(%)

318 (78)

129 (79)

0.85

Baseline DAS28

Mean(SD)

3.9 (1.5)

5.0 (1.4)

<0.0001

Baseline swollen joint count

Mean(SD)

2.6 (3.4)

3.5 (3.6)

0.0112

Baseline tender joint count

Mean(SD)

5.6 (6.2)

9.7 (8.2)

<0.0001

Baseline ESR

Mean(SD)

24 (20)

31 (24)

0.0201

Baseline patient global

Mean(SD)

40 (23)

62 (23)

<0.0001

Baseline HAQ score

Mean(SD)

1.2 (0.8)

1.9 (0.6)

<0.0001

Baseline fatigue

Mean(SD)

45 (25)

65 (20)

<0.0001

Baseline pain VAS

Mean(SD)

39 (26)

64 (22)

<0.0001

*Wilcoxon’s rank sum- any anxiety depression vs no anxiety depression                  


Disclosure: F. Matcham, None; S. Norton, None; N. Goodson, None; S. Hider, None; M. Hotopf, None; J. Galloway, None.

To cite this abstract in AMA style:

Matcham F, Norton S, Goodson N, Hider S, Hotopf M, Galloway J. Association Between Anxiety and Depression and Rheumatoid Disease Severity: Results from an Established Rheumatoid Arthritis Cohort [abstract]. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2015; 67 (suppl 10). https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/association-between-anxiety-and-depression-and-rheumatoid-disease-severity-results-from-an-established-rheumatoid-arthritis-cohort/. Accessed .
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