Chronic pain and depression are intimately linked, but that up to 12% of patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA) may develop depression and that they should be screened for depression over time.
They assessed 573 geriatric knee OA without depressive symptoms over a 2-year period using the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) and the Geriatric Depression Scale to identify depressive symptoms.
After a 2-year follow-up, 11.9% of participants developed depressive symptoms that were predicted by pain and functional impairment.
The odds of developing depression were increased with pain at night while in bed (adjusted odds ratio 2.6) and difficulty putting on socks (aOR 3.7), getting into and out of a car (aOR 3.4), and taking off socks (aOR 3.1).
There are 54 million in U.S. with OA, affecting about 13% of women and 10% of men, ages ≥60.
The authors said that ongoing screening of knee OA patients may identify depressive symptoms that may merit treatment.
, is the director of clinical rheumatology at the Baylor Research Institute and a professor of medicine and rheumatology at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas. He is the executive editor of . A version of this article first appeared on RheumNow, a news, information and commentary site dedicated to the field of rheumatology. Register to receive their free rheumatology newsletter.
Disclosures
Cush disclosed no relevant relationships with industry.
Primary Source
Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
Sugai K, et al "Association Between Knee Pain, Impaired Function, and Development of Depressive Symptoms" J Amer Geriatr Soc 2018; DOI: 10.1111/jgs.15259.