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BackgroundPsychiatric comorbidity with a chronic disease is linked with poor patient outcomes. Therefore, the current research assessed the correlation of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with depression and anxiety disorders. MethodologyA prospective observational study was undertaken at a public sector hospital between December 2020 to June 2021. All individuals who presented with rheumatoid arthritis were included in the study. A healthy cohort acted as the control group. Depression and anxiety were assessed using the Hamilton depression rating scale (HDRS) and the Hamilton anxiety rating scale (HAM-A), respectively. The patients were inquired about their gender, age, and duration of RA. Further stratification was done using the Chi-squared test. A pvalue of <0.05 was decided as the cut-off for significance. All data from the patients were collected in a predefined pro forma. ResultsA total of 169 patients with RA and 85 healthy controls were enrolled in the study. The mean depression score among patients with RA was 19.65 ± 1.44 versus 14.4 ± 1.31 in the control group (p<0.001). Moreover, the mean anxiety score in patients with RA was 19.44 ± 2.4. About 71% of patients with RA were diagnosed with psychiatric issues, while only 7.1% of individuals in the control group had either depression or anxiety (p<0.0001). Furthermore, it was found that the majority of the patients with RA had depression with a frequency of 70 (58.3%), while only six participants in the control group had depression. None of the participants had moderate or severe depression. However, 16 (69.6%) patients with RA had major anxiety issues. In 27 patients, mixed anxiety-depression disease was diagnosed. Out of these, 23 (85.2%) had the depression-dominant mixed disorder. ConclusionThe present study highlighted the alarming incidence of depression and anxiety among patients with RA. Furthermore, it also indicated the relationship between severity of psychiatric comorbidity with chronic rheumatoid arthritis in our population. Further large-scale studies are needed to ascertain the demographic confounders that may help predict psychiatric disorders among patients with RA.

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IntroductionA condition in which uric acid levels are elevated but there are no accompanying symptoms is known as asymptomatic hyperuricemia. As a result of the disparity in opinions and findings between the studies, the guidelines regarding whether or not asymptomatic hyperuricemia should be treated are unclear. Material and methodsBetween the months of January 2017 and June 2022, this research was carried out in the community in collaboration with the internal medicine unit and the public health unit of Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences. After obtaining informed consent from each participant, the researchers enrolled 1,500 patients in the study who had uric acid levels that were greater than 7.0 mg/dL. These patients ranged in age from 40 to 70 years old and were of either gender. As a control group, 1,500 patients were recruited who did not have abnormally high levels of uric acid. Patients were monitored for a total of 48 months or until the occurrence of a major cardiovascular event (MACCE) or death from all causes, whichever occurred first. Death, cardiovascular mortality, non-fatal myocardial infarction, and non-fatal stroke were the four categories that made up the primary outcome, also known as MACCEs. ResultsIn the hyperuricemic group, the incidence of myocardial infarction that did not result in death was significantly higher than in the non-hyperuricemic group (1.6% vs. 0.7%; p-value, 0.04). However, the result was not significant for deaths from all causes, deaths from cardiovascular disease, or strokes that did not result in death. ConclusionAsymptomatic hyperuricemia is a potential threat to one's health that can lead to cardiovascular diseases and may go undiagnosed in some cases. It is important to remember that hyperuricemia can lead to delirious complications, so efforts should be made to perform routine monitoring and management of the condition.

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