Patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis (RA) may develop anxiety and depression. Vitamin D deficiency may be a cause of many illnesses. For a study, researchers sought to examine if there was a link between vitamin D serum levels and the frequency of depression, anxiety symptoms, and suicide risk or thoughts in patients with RA. In the cross-sectional study, they recruited patients with RA over the age of 18 and divided them into 3 groups based on blood vitamin D levels: adequate (30 ng/mL), insufficient (20–29 ng/mL), and deficient (20 ng/mL). They examined the relationship between suicide risk, depression, and anxiety with vitamin D levels in RA and the Rheumatoid Arthritis Quality-of-Life Questionnaire using self-reported Plutchik and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale.
Between January and October of this year, they investigated 72 patients with RA. They discovered an inverse relationship between Plutchik score and suicide risk when vitamin D levels were low, but not with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Suicidal thoughts were linked to a higher Rheumatoid Arthritis Quality-of-Life Questionnaire score.
Despite the significant incidence of depressed and anxious symptoms in RA patients, a Plutchik low association coefficient with low blood vitamin D levels was discovered. However, in the analysis of covariance, they discovered that vitamin D levels continue to be related to a reduction in suicidal thoughts. More research is needed to determine a risk profile for early psychological therapies to enhance RA patients’ quality of life.
