Over the past decade, research into the interplay of chronic pain associated with rheumatoid arthritis and depression has revealed that there is a feedback loop – depression makes pain worse; arthritis pain makes depression worse. In addition, depression also increases the risk for functional problems in people with rheumatoid arthritis. According to researchers in the Department of Psychological Medicine at the University of Manchester in the UK, among patients with rheumatoid arthritis, “a 10 percent reduction in ability to perform…valued activities is followed by a seven-fold increase in depression over the subsequent year.” Interestingly, the opposite is also true. “Depression,” they point out, “also precedes increases in disability, predicting poorer functional status, more disability days and more RA-related hospitalizations.” But this double association provides good news too, since making improvements in a person’s ability to move around and enjoy various activities can lessen depression; and lessening depression can make it easier for a person with rheumatoid arthritis to get around.
As the lead scientist of a recent Arthritis Foundation-funded study of depression, Mary Margaretten, M.D., says, “RA affects people both physically and psychologically. Given that having depressive symptoms along with another disease is known to worsen health outcomes, it is useful to figure out the cause(s) of depression in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.”
The bottom line? Make an effort to discuss both your mental outlook and your rheumatoid arthritis symptoms regularly with your health care providers and take steps to alleviate depression as soon as possible.
Source: Healthcommunities
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