Depression is an independent risk factor for some rheumatoid arthritis symptoms, even when it's the patient's spouse who is depressed, researchers found.
That's the conclusion of two separate studies published in the August 15 issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism.
One study, by Masayo Kojima, MD, PhD, of Nagoya City University in Nagoya, Japan, and colleagues, determined that depression severity was correlated with C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in rheumatoid arthritis patients -- and that both factors were independently predictive of pain.
In the other study, Anita DeLongis, PhD, of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, and colleagues found that spousal depression predicted a worse one-year disease course for patients.
The findings extend earlier research indicating that, as DeLongis and colleagues put it, "The emotional well-being of persons with rheumatoid arthritis [plays] a critical role in disease course and disability."
Depression is especially common among patients with rheumatoid arthritis. However, evidence increasingly suggests that depression is not just a consequence of arthritis pain and disability, but an independent contributor to the disease.
For example, researchers previously found that a single depressive episode predicts worse arthritis-related pain later.
http://www.medpagetoday.com/Rheumatology/Arthritis/15430?userid=160941&impressionId=1249881130631&utm_source=mSpoke&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=DailyHeadlines&utm_content=Group1[quote ]...an independent contributor to the disease.[/quote]