At the Magaziner Center for Wellness, we often see patients with chronic pain from arthritis suffering from symptoms of anxiety and depression. Recently researchers made a startling connection between early anxiety and later dementia.
Researchers from the Arthritis Research UK Primary Care Center suggest that patients with a prior diagnosis of anxiety were strongly associated with later life dementia and that doctors should consider anxiety as well as depression as risk factors for dementia. (1)
Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that one-third of U.S. adults with arthritis, 45 years and older, report having anxiety or depression. According to findings that appear in Arthritis Care & Research, anxiety is nearly twice as common as depression among people with arthritis, despite more clinical focus on the latter mental health condition.
Anxiety is often under-recognized and under-treated
In the U.S. 27 million individuals, 25 years of age and older, have doctor diagnosed osteoarthritis and 1.3 million adults have rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The CDC estimates that all forms of arthritis affect 50 million Americans and is the leading cause of disability nationwide.
- Previous studies have reported depression is common among those with chronic illnesses such as arthritis. However, experts suggest that anxiety is often under-recognized and under-treated, and until recently was overlooked as a potential risk factor for depression.
Results reveal that anxiety was more common than depression in this population at 31% and 18%, respectively.
Moreover, one-third of respondents reported at least one of the two conditions, and 84% of those with depression also had anxiety. . .Only half of participants with anxiety or depression arthritis sought mental health treatment in the prior year. (2)
Long-term pain is typical in patients we see here in our Cherry Hill, New Jersey office and is a signal that the patient may be suffering from depression.
When a patient comes in, we treat the pain with Prolotherapy, PRP, and/ or Stem Cell Therapies. Dr. Greenberg explains below.
We may also assess each patient’s physical state and treat any triggers of depression without the use of medication.
Please contact our office for more information
1. Burton C, Campbell P, Jordan K, Strauss V, Mallen C. The association of anxiety and depression with future dementia diagnosis: a case-control study in primary care. Fam Pract. 2012 Aug 21. [Epub ahead of print]
2. Arthritis Care & Research. Public release date: 30-Apr-2012
Recent Comments