Comorbid depression and anxiety impact hip osteoarthritis

Background: Mental health correlates are often neglected in the context of efforts to treat disabling osteoarthritis.

Objective: To examine the extent to which comorbid and/or concurrent depression and anxiety symptoms occur among adults with end-stage osteoarthritis, and the impact of this on their general ability to function physically.

Methods: The available records of 1,000 hip osteoarthritis surgical candidates were examined for any historical or concurrent evidence of depression/anxiety. Measures of function, and discharge destination were also extracted. Selected subgroup comparisons were conducted between those with depression and anxiety disorder histories and those with no such history.

Results: (1) Nine percent of the cohort reported a prior mood disorder. An additional 9% reported anxiety symptoms and 0.8% reported feeling depressed. (2) Those with depression and anxiety histories were more impaired than those in good mental health and tended to recover more slowly than those with no such history (p=0.001).

Conclusion: A high percentage of cases with severe end-stage hip osteoarthritis cases may have undetected or untreated mood disorder histories and/or prevailing symptoms of emotional distress that may exaggerate their disability and slow postoperative recovery processes.

Efforts by those who seek to improve quality of life for the large number of adults disabled by arthritis that involve examining and optimizing their mental, as well as their physical status, may prove highly beneficial.