ACR Meeting Abstracts

ACR Meeting Abstracts

Abstract Number: 2311

Association of Sexual Dysfunction and Depression in Rheumatoid Arthritis Female Patients

Bruna Piola 1, Pedro Santos 2, Flávia Barros 2, Hugo Lima 2, Paulo Cerquinho 2, Rafael Caminha 2, Dennys Fagundes 2, Leia Andrade 2, Felipe Torres 2, Mariana Luna 2 and Laurindo Rocha Jr2, 1Instituto de Medicina Integral Professor Fernando Figueira -IMIP, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil, 2Instituto de Medicina Integral Professor Fernando Figueira - IMIP, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil

Meeting: 2019 ACR/ARP Annual Meeting

Keywords: ,

Session Information

Date: Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Title: RA – Diagnosis, Manifestations, & Outcomes Poster III: Comorbidities

Session Type: Poster Session (Tuesday)

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

Background/Purpose: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic disease that affects joints and is associated with many aspects of the patients´ lives, including sexual function and psychiatric comorbidity, such as depression. This study aimed to assess sexual function and its association with depression in female RA patients and to analyze the factors associated with these conditions.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study with 64 RA female patients. For clinical diagnosis of depression, the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders – 5th edition) was used and the BDI-II (Beck Depression Inventory II) was applied to evaluate the intensity of depression symptoms. Sexual dysfunction (SD) was evaluated using Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) questionnaire. Clinical and sociodemographic data was collected. Thirty healthy women were included as controls.

Results: The mean age of patients was 52.6 years (+11.7) compared to a mean 52 years (+13) of the controls. None of the controls had SD associated with depression. Fifty-one patients had SD, in which 18 (28%) had depression associated with SD. Depression in patients with SD was associated with higher scores of the Health Assessment Questionnaire (p=0.05) and of visual analogue scale for fatigue (p=0.039). Of note, these patients correlated the prednisone dose negatively with domains of FSFI such as arousal (r= -0.5374; p= 0.043), lubrication (r= -0.5032; p= 0.048), orgasm (r= -0.5374; p= 0.043) and satisfaction (r= -0.6197; p=0,03). Patients with SD and no depression (n=33) showed positive correlation of height with arousal (r= 0.3480; p=0.047), lubrication (r= 0.3524; p= 0.044), orgasm (r= 0.3655; p= 0.036) and pain (r=0.3809; p=0.029). Overall, there were no associations of the domains of FSFI with presence of depression or intensity of depression symptoms.

Conclusion: There was high prevalence of sexual dysfunction and depresson in RA patients. Sexual dysfunction and depression might be present concomitantly in RA patients and are suggested to be associated with worse clinical aspects. There is no association of the aspects of sexual function with depression or with the intensity of depression symptoms.

Disclosure: B. Piola, None; P. Santos, None; F. Barros, None; H. Lima, None; P. Cerquinho, None; R. Caminha, None; D. Fagundes, None; L. Andrade, None; F. Torres, None; M. Luna, None; L. Rocha Jr, None.

To cite this abstract in AMA style:

Piola B, Santos P, Barros F, Lima H, Cerquinho P, Caminha R, Fagundes D, Andrade L, Torres F, Luna M, Rocha Jr L. Association of Sexual Dysfunction and Depression in Rheumatoid Arthritis Female Patients [abstract]. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2019; 71 (suppl 10). https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/association-of-sexual-dysfunction-and-depression-in-rheumatoid-arthritis-female-patients/. Accessed .

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