Are Anxiety, Depression Cause or Consequence of Frailty in Seniors with Rheumatoid Arthritis?

A mixed qualitative-quantitative study of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in the International Journal of Rheumatic Diseases found psychosocial factors, like anxiety and depression, could be more valuable determinants of frailty than age, reports HCPLive . "We indeed found comparable rates of frailty (across age groups) when using the Groningen Frailty Indicator (GFI), a questionnaire that heavily relies on the psychosocial effects of frailty such as anxiety, loneliness, and depressive feelings," said Maastricht University Medical Center's Marloes van Onna. "It might be possible that the results for frailty measures that more rely on physical effects, such as muscle strength, reduced walking speed, and weight loss, do show an age-related effect." The authors conducted two cross-sectional surveys and qualitative follow-up with 90 patients with RA in three age groups (55-64, 65-74, and 75 and older). In comparing frail and non-frail patients via GFI, feelings of emptiness were reported in 63.2 percent versus 3.8% percent; missing the presence of people in 65.8 percent versus 7.7 percent; loneliness in 55.3 percent versus 0 percent; depression in 73.7 percent versus 11.5 percent; and anxiety in 57.9 percent versus 15.4 percent. In the second poll, frail patients exhibited signs of an anxiety disorder on the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, while during interviews more frail patients voiced gloomy feelings.