Anxiety and Depression Rising in Rheumatoid Arthritis Save
A Mayo Clinic study shows that over three decades, anxiety and depression have become more common in individuals with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
Data drawn from the Rochester Epidemiology Project identified incident adult RA (age >18 years) patients who were matched 1:1 with non-RA comparators. Depression and anxiety were defined by ICD9/10 codes.
Overall they included 1,012 individuals with RA and 1,012 matched controls (mean age 55.9 years; 68.38% female). Between the years 1985-1994 and 2005-2014, the calculated rates of rates of anxiety and co-occurring anxiety and depression and expressed the changed by hazard ratios (HR). From 1985-1994 to 2005-2014, they found an increase in:
Anxiety (HR: 1.27; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.86-1.88)
Concomitant anxiety and depression (HR: 1.49; 95% CI: 0.96-2.33) compared to controls.
Trends were most pronounced in seropositive RA (HR anxiety: 4.01; 95% CI: 2.21-7.30).
The rising prevalence of anxiety and depression suggests increasing awareness, but this study did not assess their relatedness to disease activity or damage, as has been suggested by other studies.
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