Stress Can Take Its Toll Rheumatic Disease

Anxiety and depression are not uncommon among lupus patients, show studies recently presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology.

A Chinese study presented by Yongfu Wang showed that a higher prevalence of anxiety and depression were associated with higher levels of disease activity in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Like other studies presented at the meeting, the researchers designed novel tools and solutions designed to track symptoms. Dr. Wang, of Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology, and his team designed a mobile tool called Smart System of Disease Management (SSDM) mobile app in which patients could track disease activity. They found that the higher the disease activity, the higher the anxiety. The mobile app proved to be a useful tool in tracking both conditions.

Lilian Cano-Cruz of the Instituto Nacional De Ciencias Medicinas y Nutricion Salvador Subirán in
Mexico City, compared lupus outcomes among female and male patients finding that females in this study had lower disease activity, but exhibited more anxiety and depression and lower quality of life as compared to men who had higher disease activity. "It is important that rheumatologists take these findings into account, in order to establish optimal support according to gender," researchers

Mental health symptoms should be addressed in rheumatic disease patients as a result of COVID-19, Shereen Mahmood wrote in her ACR 2020 abstract In this survey of 202 patients, 56 percent had at least mild symptoms of depression, 16 percent had moderate signs of depression, 12 percent had severe depression. 106 (48 percent) patients had at least mild symptoms of anxiety, 31 (14 percent) had moderate, 20 (9 percent) had severe. All mental health scales were moderately correlated with the COVID-related distress scale.

In a cross-sectional study of psoriatic arthritis patients 688 cases, physicians reported anxiety and/or depression in 14.2 percent of patients, while 36.6 percent of patients self-reported having anxiety and/or depression. Patients with anxiety and/or depression had worse QoL, higher work impairment, and greater disability.

After adjusting for demographic and clinical factors, patients with anxiety and/or depression were found to have worse quality of life, work productivity, and disability outcomes than those without. Differences between patient and physician reports of anxiety and/or depression suggest that physicians may not be aware of the extent to which PsA patients experience anxiety and/or depression," wrote authors who were led by Laure Gossec of Sorbonne University in Paris.

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ABSTRACT NUMBER: 1295. Disease Activity and Mental Health in SLE Patients: A Cross-section Study with Self-Assessments Based on Smart System of Disease Management (SSDM) Mobile Tools.

ABSTRACT NUMBER: 1289. Sex Differences in Mental Health and Quality of Life and Their Impact in the Treatment of Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
Lilian Cano-Cruz. Date: Sunday, November 8, 2020

ABSTRACT NUMBER: 0051. COVID-Related Distress and Mental Health in Adult Rheumatology Patients During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Shereen Mahmood

ABSTRACT NUMBER: 0336. Anxiety and Depression in Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA) – Prevalence and Impact on Patient Reported Outcomes: Real-World Survey in the US and Europe
Laure Gossec.