Depression Raises Risk for RA

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with an increased risk for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), according to a recent study.

Findings were presented at the ACR/AHRP Annual Meeting, which is taking place from November 3 to 8, 2017, in San Diego, California.
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Previous studies have suggested that MDD may impact the development of RA. However, the underlying risk factors for RA are currently not well understood.

For their study, the researchers evaluated 403,932 patients with MDD and 5,339,399 individuals without MDD (reference cohort), using data from The Health Improvement Network (THIN) Database from 1986 to 2012. Follow-up lasted up to 26 years.

Patients were followed until they had either developed RA or had been censored. The risk for RA in patients with MDD was determined via Cox proportional hazards models. The presence of effect modification (determined via a Wald test) or confounding by age or sex were examined using a backward elimination procedure.

Results indicated that 2192 (0.54%) patients with MDD and 24,021 (0.45%) patients without MDD had developed RA. Age and sex were confounding factors. According to findings from the Cox proportional hazards models, patients with MDD who were younger than 40 years had a 42% higher risk of developing RA, whereas this risk was only 14% higher in MDD patients older than 40 years.

“MDD was found to be a risk factor for the development of RA,” the researchers concluded. “This risk was highest among younger patients with MDD, and the risk was only somewhat increased among older patients with MDD. These results provide support [for] the hypothesis that MDD may be associated with the development of RA.”

—Christina Vogt

Reference:

Vallerand I, Lewinson R, Lowerison M, et al. Depression as a risk factor for the development of rheumatoid arthritis: a population-based cohort study. Paper presented at: ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting; November 3-8, 2017; San Diego, CA. http://acrabstracts.org/abstract/depression-as-a-risk-factor-for-the-development-of-rheumatoid-arthritis-a-population-based-cohort-study/.