From the Popular Press: What Your Patients are Reading:

Researchers at the University of North Carolina assessed mental health records of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients to establish a correlation between RA and depression. Having determined that RA patients are at a heightened risk for depression, the researchers evaluated whether physicians discuss the risk of depression with their patients. The researchers found that 11% of RA patients exhibited moderately severe to severe symptoms of depression. However, only 20% of RA patients with depressive symptoms discussed them with their physician. Moreover, discussion of depression symptoms was initiated by the patient rather than the physician, and the discussion were generally brief. Researchers call attention to the need for depression screening of RA patients in their study results, published this month in Arthritis Care & Research. Rheumatologists should either discuss the symptoms of depression with their patients or refer patients to mental health professionals. Symptoms of depression often interfere with patients' adherence to prescribed regimens, and thus depression screening and treatment is an important part of RA treatment.

Read the full text of this article on healthday.com