Key result
Physical state links to rheumatoid arthritis pain, with emotional health mediating ~10% of the effect.
Observational (n=548)
Emotional factors significantly mediate the relationship between physical state and pain in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, suggesting emotional health should be considered when assessing disease activity.
Emotional mediation of physical-pain effects in RA is hypothesis-generating; leaves open whether targeting it improves outcomes.
OBJECTIVE: Pain is one of the main symptoms of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Pain in RA is caused by specific physical changes, such as joint destruction, and is therefore used as a disease activity marker. Although pain can also be influenced by emotional factors, neither the effect of emotional health nor the indirect effect of the physical state mediated by emotional health on pain has been quantified. METHODS: A total of 548 patients with RA participated. Emotional health was assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Measures routinely used in practice were used to evaluate the physical state and pain. To quantify the effects of the physical state on emotional health, and the effects of both physical and emotional health on pain, we used structural equation modeling, with emotional health, physical state, and pain as latent variables. RESULTS: The prevalence of anxiety and depression (HADS score ≥8 for each) among patients with RA was 18.7% and 29.4%, respectively. Emotional health was significantly influenced by the physical state (β = 0.21). Pain was affected by physical (β = 0.54) and emotional health (β = 0.29). The effect of the physical state on pain was mediated by emotional health, with this mediation effect (β = 0.06) accounting for 10.2% of the total effect. CONCLUSION: The magnitude of pain in RA is determined by the mediation effect of emotional health as well as the direct physical state. Our findings suggest that emotional factors should be taken into account when assessing RA disease activity.
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Nakagami et al. (2018) conducted an observational in Rheumatoid arthritis (n=548). Physical state was evaluated on Pain (β = 0.54). Physical state affected pain both directly (β = 0.54) and indirectly through emotional health mediation (β = 0.06), accounting for 10.2% of the total effect in rheumatoid arthritis.
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