title: Association between psychopathological factors and joint hypermobility syndrome in a group of undergraduates from a French university.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore the frequency of Joint Hypermobility Syndrome (JHS) among university students and assess whether a relationship exists between this collagen condition and certain psychological variables.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional sample of 365 undergraduates at a French university was assessed with the Brighton's criteria for JHS, Somatosensory Amplification Scale (SSAS), Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS), and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS).
  
  
  RESULTS
  39.5% of the participants met Brighton's criteria for JHS. Scores of somatosensory amplification were higher among participants with JHS (t = -2.98; p = 0.03) independent of gender. Female participants with JHS had higher scores in depression (t = -2.01; p = 0.04) and general anxiety (t = -2.35; p = 0.01) than women without JHS. The percentage of males with a medium/high level of social anxiety was greater among participants with JHS (78.6% vs. 41.7%; chi2 = 6.18;p = 0.01). Logistic regression demonstrated that male sex and low level of somatosensory amplification are variables contrary to the presence of JHS.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  JHS is a frequent condition among young people evaluated. JHS is associated with psychological distress and higher levels of somatosensory amplification.
authors.affiliation: University Autonomous of Barcelona. c.baezavelasco@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Carolina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Baeza-Velasco
authors.forename: Marie-Christine
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Gely-Nargeot
authors.forename: Antonio Bulbena
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Vilarrasa
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fenetrier
authors.forename: Jaime F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Bravo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005602:France / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007593:Joint Instability / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012919:Social Behavior; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology; D013577:Syndrome; D055815:Young Adult