Calderón Espinoza I, Chavarria-Avila E, Pizano-Martinez O, Martínez-García EA, Armendariz-Borunda J, Marquez-Aguirre AL, Llamas-García A, Corona-Sánchez EG, Toriz González G, Vazquez-Del Mercado M. Suicide Risk in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients is Associated With Suboptimal Vitamin D Levels.
J Clin Rheumatol 2022;
28:137-142. [PMID:
35293886 PMCID:
PMC8946603 DOI:
10.1097/rhu.0000000000001823]
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Abstract
BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients might experience anxiety and depressive symptoms. Deficient vitamin D levels may be a trigger for these conditions. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of depression, anxiety symptoms, and suicidal risk or ideation in patients with RA associated with vitamin D serum levels.
METHODS
In this cross-sectional study, we recruited RA patients older than 18 years, classified into 3 groups according to serum vitamin D levels: sufficient, ≥30 ng/mL; insufficient, 20-29 ng/mL; and deficient, <20 ng/mL. Based on the self-reported Plutchik and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, we evaluated the association of suicidal risk, depression, and anxiety with the vitamin D levels in RA and the Rheumatoid Arthritis Quality-of-Life Questionnaire.
RESULTS
We studied 72 patients with RA between January and October 2019. We found an inverse correlation between Plutchik score and suicidal risk with inadequate vitamin D levels, but not with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Suicidal ideation was associated with a higher score on the Rheumatoid Arthritis Quality-of-Life Questionnaire.
CONCLUSIONS
Despite the high prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms in RA patients, a Plutchik low correlation coefficient with inadequate serum levels of vitamin D was found. However, in the analysis of covariance, we were able to find that vitamin D levels remain associated with a reduction of suicide ideation. Further studies are needed to identify a risk profile for early psychological interventions to improve the quality of life in RA patients.
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