Upswings in Cheerful Mood and Disease Activity in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Purpose The influence of a cheerful mood on disease activity levels in rheumatoid arthritis is investigated in this cross-sectional study. Method State cheerfulness (i.e., how individuals feel at the time of the assessment) and trait cheerfulness (i.e., how individuals usually feel) were assessed at...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of behavioral medicine 2016-10, Vol.23 (5), p.606-610
Main Authors: Delgado-Domínguez, Carlos Jesús, Escudero-Contreras, Alejandro, Font-Ugalde, Pilar, Ruiz-Vilchez, Desireé, Collantes-Estévez, Eduardo, Carretero-Dios, Hugo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Arthritis, Rheumatoid - physiopathology
Arthritis, Rheumatoid - psychology
C-Reactive Protein - metabolism
Cross-Sectional Studies
Emotions
Family Medicine
Female
General Practice
Happiness
Health Psychology
Humans
Humor
Male
Medical diagnosis
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Middle Aged
Rheumatoid arthritis
Severity of Illness Index
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Summary:Purpose The influence of a cheerful mood on disease activity levels in rheumatoid arthritis is investigated in this cross-sectional study. Method State cheerfulness (i.e., how individuals feel at the time of the assessment) and trait cheerfulness (i.e., how individuals usually feel) were assessed at the same time as the clinical indicators of disease activity and just before measuring patient-reported disease activity with the Disease Activity Score-28 (DAS-28). Results State cheerfulness contributed significantly to the variance in the DAS-28 scores that was not accounted for by trait cheerfulness or demographic or clinical variables. Higher state cheerfulness was associated with lower values of self-reported disease activity and C-reactive protein. The patient-reported disease activity was not uniquely caused by the clinical indicators of disease, but it also depended on patients’ cheerful mood at the moment of assessment. Conclusion The findings suggest interesting possibilities for the diagnosis and monitoring of disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis.
ISSN:1070-5503
1532-7558
DOI:10.1007/s12529-016-9550-2