63 Percent Of RA Patients Suffer Psychiatric Disorders, With Depressive Spectrum Conditions Most Likely

Over half (63%) of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) also suffer from psychiatric disorders, with the majority of these (87%) occurring in the depressive spectrum, according to the results of a new study presented recently at EULAR 2009, the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism in Copenhagen, Denmark. Interestingly, over half (52%) of the patients studied indicated that they had experienced stress events before the onset of their RA.



The study also revealed a number of other interesting findings about the emotional burden of RA:



* Cognitive dysfunction was diagnosed in 23% of patients, with 16% of this attributed to depression


* A third (33%) suffered from sleep disorders


* Those with depression also exhibited more severe RA (measured by X-ray), greater functional insufficiency and pain, as well as having received less aggressive treatment than patients without depression. (No significant differences in age, duration of illness, gender or DAS28* scores were noted between the two groups)


* Significantly, cognitive impairments were found more often (p=0.02) in patients older than 50 years (39% vs. 9%)


* The age of the first prednisone intake was significantly higher (p