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Depression Linked to More Inflamed Joints, Disability in Adolescent Patients With JIA

Issue: July 2016

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LONDON — Nearly 15% of adolescent patients diagnosed with juvenile idiopathic arthritis have significant depressive symptoms, and those with greater depressive symptoms have more inflamed joints and more disability, according to a speaker here at the EULAR Annual Congress.

“This research at least supports the view that psychological assessment and support when appropriate should be available for all young people diagnosed with [juvenile idiopathic arthritis], and this should be fully integrated into their routine care,” John Ioannou, MD, from University College London, said in a press conference.

John Ioannou

Ioannou and colleagues collected data on 102 patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) with a mean age of 12.7 years from the Childhood Arthritis Prospective Study. The Mood and Feelings Questionnaire (MFQ) was used to assess depressive symptoms. Investigators used Spearman’s correlation to analyze baseline associations. Over 48 months, a separate piecewise linear mixed-effect model was used to estimate changes in active joint count and disability.

Results showed, at baseline, 14.7% of patients scored above the cutoff in the MFQ for probable depression. Ioannou and colleagues noted depressive symptoms were correlated significantly with disability and active joint count at the baseline. Twelve months after the baseline, longitudinal analysis indicated depressive symptoms, disability and active joint count had decreased rapidly.

“Depression is prevalent in teenagers diagnosed with JIA. It tells us depressive symptoms is teenagers diagnosed with JIA associate with worst disease and that’s objective evidence of more inflamed joints,” Ioannou said. “It also tells us, interestingly, depressive symptoms in teenagers diagnosed with JIA in the future continue to associate with pain and disability despite controlling inflammation in their joints.” – by Monica Jaramillo

Reference:

Ioannou J, et al. Abstract #OP0030. Presented at: EULAR Annual Congress; June 8-11, 2016; London.

Disclosure: Ioannou reports no relevant financial disclosures.