Background/Purpose: Catastrophizing is a negative cognitivo-affective response to an anxiety-provoking stimulus, especially to pain. Catastrophism plays a role in maintaining chronic pain and is associated with several pain related outcomes.The objective was to assess catastrophizing prevalence and associated factors in axial spondyloarthritis (SA) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA).

Methods: In rheumatology departments of two hospitals, patients completed clinical and laboratory assessment (pain VAS, global VAS, tender and swollen joints, C-reactive protein, ESR, DAS28) and questionnaires on different outcomes: disease activity (BASDAI), catastrophizing (PCS), coping (CSQ), quality of life (Sf12, Eq5D), functional impact (BASFI, HAQ), fibromyalgia (FiRST), anxiety and depression (HADS, GAD7), and insomnia (ISI). Statistical analysis included samples t-test, one-way analysis of variance, Spearman’s correlations, khi-2 test, Fisher’s test, Wilcoxon test, linear and logistic regressions.

Results: In all, 253 patients were included (168 SA, 85 PsA). The prevalence of a PCS score ≥20 was 45.6% [95%CI 39.5;51.8]. It was 45.5% [38.0;53.0] in SA and 45.9% [35.3;56.5] in PsA. Median PCS score was 18 [Q1-Q3 6-18] in the global population. It was 18 [7-27] in SA and 16 [6-29] in PsA. Catastrophizing was significantly associated with anxiety, depression and disease activity in SA, and with anxiety, low quality of life and pain in PsA.

Conclusion: Almost half of patients with SA or PsA were high catastrophizers. Catastrophizing has a major impact on patient daily life. It may be interesting to detect catastrophizing in order to improve the management of our patients.

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ACR Meeting Abstracts - https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/catastrophizing-in-patients-with-axial-spondyloarthritis-and-psoriatic-arthritis/