Anxiety and Depression Higher in People with Rheumatoid Arthritis
Evidence from a population-based study identified an increase in anxiety and depression among people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) over the past 30 years. The study, appearing in the Journal of Rheumatology (October 2024), compared over 1,000 people with RA to a similar number of people without RA. People with and without RA showed more anxiety and depression in 2005 to 2014 compared with 1985 to 1994, but the occurrence of anxiety alone and anxiety with depression rose faster in people with RA. They also showed high but stable rates of depression. People with RA who had positive blood tests for the presence of substances associated with RA had the most pronounced increases. Treatment for anxiety and depression is available, and the researchers call for clinicians to address these conditions in people with RA.
