Depression in Rheumatoid Arthritis: Prevalence and Effects on Disease Activity.

The primary objective of this study was to estimate depression's prevalence in a cohort of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients, and the secondary objective was to evaluate the impact of depression on disease activity over time. We included all patients with RA presenting to our clinic from 2019 to 2020, who had three follow-up visits available. Depression prevalence was calculated using the patient's history of diagnosed depression, and disease activity was assessed using the disease activity score for 28 joints (DAS28) and its components: tender joint count (TJC), swollen joint count (SJC), pain value on a visual analog scale (VAS), and inflammatory markers. A total of 400 RA patients were included, 75 of whom had diagnosed depression, generating a prevalence of 18.8%. The mean values of DAS28 and its components were higher, with statistical significance, in the depression subgroup at all three follow-ups ( < 0.001). Depression is prevalent in the RA population, and leads to higher disease activity in dynamic evaluations. Assessing depression could be a psychological marker for RA prognosis with an important outcome in controlling disease activity.