title: Prevalence and Severity of Depression and Anxiety in Patients With Systemic Sclerosis: An Epidemiologic Survey and Investigation of Clinical Correlates.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a chronic multisystem connective tissue disorder with detrimental impact on quality of life. Patients with SSc face emotional distress and frequently meet criteria for a psychiatric disorder. However, the pattern of psychiatric manifestations may vary according to socioethnic background.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We investigated the prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms and examined their association with sociodemographic and clinical factors in Iranian SSc patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Depressive and anxiety symptoms were evaluated by Beck Depression Inventory and Cattell questionnaire in 114 SSc patients. The associations between sociodemographic and clinical factors and depressive/anxiety symptoms were examined via multivariate analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of depressive symptoms was 68.4%. There was a significant association between depressive symptoms and pulmonary and gastrointestinal manifestations. Also, diffuse SSc patients were more prone to depressive symptoms. Mean Rodnan scores were significantly higher in patients with depressive symptoms in comparison with subjects with no depressive symptoms. The prevalence of anxiety symptoms was 23.6%. Anxiety symptoms were not associated with demographic characteristics, SSc subtype, disease duration, Rodnan score, other clinical features, and previous history of depression in the patients or their family. The coincidence of anxiety and depression was 82.8%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Depressive and anxiety symptoms are prevalent among Iranian SSc population. The depressive symptoms showed correlation with pulmonary and gastrointestinal involvement, as well as diffuse SSc subtype.
authors.affiliation: From the Rheumatology Research Center, Shariati Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Seyedeh Tahereh
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Faezi
authors.forename: Pedram
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Paragomi
authors.forename: Ashraf
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shahali
authors.forename: Maryam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Akhlaghkhah
authors.forename: Mahmood
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Akbarian
authors.forename: Maassoomeh
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Akhlaghi
authors.forename: Masoumeh
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kheirandish
authors.forename: Farhad
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gharibdoost
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003710:Demography; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011788:Quality of Life; D012595:Scleroderma, Systemic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013223:Statistics as Topic