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Depression History, Stress, and Pain in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients

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Abstract

This study examined the role of past episodes of depression on pain reports for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) before and during stress induction. A history of major depressive episodes was assessed by diagnostic interviews for 138 RA patients, 74 who later participated in a set of laboratory procedures designed to induce interpersonal stress. Patients were evaluated by a rheumatologist and then asked to report joint and bodily pain throughout the laboratory study. We found that RA patients with a history of two or more episodes of major depression had more pain at baseline, and exhibited higher pain in response to the stress induction than did RA patients with either only one episode or no history of depression. Such findings provide new insight in the dynamic relationships between depression, stress, and pain.

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Notes

  1. Participants in this study later participated in an intervention and were given post-tests involving a second laboratory assessment. Only half of the participants were randomly selected to receive a pre-lab to examine and control for the effects of pre-intervention exposure to the laboratory stressor on post-intervention responses.

  2. Computation of variance explained performed according to guidelines described in Singer (1998).

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to acknowledge grant support from the National Institute of Arthritis, Musculoskeletal, and Skin Diseases (2R01 AR/AG 41687: Alex J. Zautra PI), and the Arthritis Foundation, (Howard Tennen, PI).

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Correspondence to Alex J. Zautra.

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Zautra, A.J., Parrish, B.P., Van Puymbroeck, C.M. et al. Depression History, Stress, and Pain in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients. J Behav Med 30, 187–197 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-007-9097-4

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