(Reuters Health)—Mental health problems, like anxiety and depression, may partly explain why people with rheumatoid arthritis have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, according to a new study. Researchers linked anger, anxiety, depressive symptoms, job stress and low social support to increasing risk of hardening of the arteries, or atherosclerosis, for people with rheumatoid arthritis…
7 Tools to Identify Depression
Why screening for depressive symptoms in patients with arthritis is needed
Tips for Treating Pain, Depression in Patients with Rheumatic Disease Offered at the ACR/ARHP’s 2013 Annual Meeting
Observational pain scales, diagnostic tools, pharmacologic interventions, and support from psychologists, caregivers recommended
Depression in Rheumatoid Arthritis
Examining the psychological and health-related comorbidities of rheumatoid arthritis patients with depression
Within Our Reach–Funded Study Finds Increased Depression Risk Among Some RA Patients
A study recently published in Arthritis & Rheumatism found that a cohort of patients from multiethnic backgrounds who all had rheumatoid arthritis (RA) had nearly double the rate of depressive symptoms compared with middle-class white patients with RA.1 The study also examined predictors of depression, and concluded that physical disability—not acute disease activity—is the principal predictor of depression in patients with RA.
Pain Management Meditations
Thoughts from a career spent understanding—and alleviating—pain