High Rates of Depression, Anxiety in Patients With Ankylosing Spondylitis

Half of patients with ankylosing spondylitis had clinically significant depression, and more than a third had clinically significant anxiety, according to a single-center, cross-sectional study available on the preprint server Research Square.

“The majority of patients exhibited poor quality of life and severe fatigue,” researchers reported. “More than one-third suffered sleep disturbance.”

The study, which is currently undergoing revision for possible inclusion in BMC Rheumatology, included a convenience sample of 103 patients with ankylosing spondylitis treated by rheumatologists at Damascus Hospital in Syria. Researchers assessed patients for depression (Patient Health Questionaire-9), anxiety (General Anxiety Disorder-7), quality of life (Ankylosing Spondylitis Quality of Life questionnaire), fatigue (Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy – Fatigue Scale), and sleep problems (Jenkins sleep scale), as well as for disease activity, physical function, and general health.

Among patients with ankylosing spondylitis, the rate of clinically significant depression was 49.5%, and the rate of clinically significant anxiety was 36.9%, according to the study.

Factors associated with depression and anxiety included having to quit work due to disease, hip pain, and a history of mental distress, researchers reported. Major predictive factors for depression and anxiety were poor quality of life, severe fatigue, and sleep disturbances.

“Health care providers should pay more attention to depressive and anxiety symptoms in the course of ankylosing spondylitis patient management,” the authors advised.

Reference

Safiah MH, Ashabi KKA, Haj-Abow T, Alchallah MO, Khalayli N, Kudsi M. Prevalence of depression and anxiety in Syrian patients with ankylosing spondylitis: associations with disease-related factors, fatigue, quality of life, and sleep disturbance — a cross-sectional study. September 12, 2023. PREPRINT (Version 1) available at Research Square. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3333382/v1