Depression May Boost Arthritis Pain

Doctors should assess patient's emotional state when treating knee osteoarthritis, researchers say

TUESDAY, March 22, 2011 (HealthDay News) -- Depression can worsen the pain of knee arthritis, a new study finds.

South Korean researchers used X-rays to assess the severity of knee osteoarthritis in 660 men and women, aged 65 and older. The patients were also evaluated for the severity of their symptoms and for depression.

As expected, levels of pain were higher in patients whose X-rays showed greater joint damage. However, the researchers also found that depression was associated with an increase in pain in patients with mild to moderate knee osteoarthritis, even when significant joint damage was not evident in the X-ray image.

The findings are published in the March 16 issue of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery.

"Knee osteoarthritis is a common cause of pain and impairment in older adults. Often, the level of arthritic symptoms reported by patients is much more severe than what is represented by X-rays, which can make it difficult for the doctor to treat," study author Dr. Tae Kyun Kim, director of the division of knee surgery and sports medicine at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital's Joint Reconstruction Center, said in a journal news release.

"The results of this study indicate that depression can play a major role in the way patients experience the symptoms of knee arthritis, and that even when X-rays show the arthritis is not severe, patients with depression may report significant pain," Kim said.

"The relationship between pain and depression suggests that both should be considered by physicians when treating patients with knee osteoarthritis, particularly in those with X-rays not indicating severe damage to the joint," Kim added.

Kim also noted that some patients with knee osteoarthritis still experience pain and impaired movement after undergoing knee replacement surgery.

"Sometimes pain and disability after surgery is medically unexplained, so in these patients screening for depression might be a very good option," Kim suggested.

According to the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health, depression often goes undiagnosed in the elderly.

More information

The Arthritis Foundation has more about osteoarthritis.

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