Prevalence of anxiety and depression among adolescents with juvenile idiopathic arthritis during the COVID-19 pandemic, a single tertiary center experience

Abstract

Background The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has caused tremendous disruption to patients with chronic diseases. Aim To detect prevalence of anxiety and depression among adolescents with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Patients and methods We conducted a cross sectional study included59 participants aged 12–18 years old (29 JIA patients and 30 healthy controls). An Arabic validatedform of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) as a measure of degree of anxiety and depression was used. Results Out of 29 JIA patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, 13.8% and 17.2% were consistent with diagnosis of anxiety and borderline anxiety respectively. Also, 3.4% and 17.2% reported symptoms consistent with diagnosis of depression and borderline depression respectively. There was no significant difference between patients’ anxiety and depression on one hand and control group on the other hand (for all P>0.05) Additionally, patients on biological infusion therapy requiring hospitalizationexhibited a significant increase in HADS-A score for anxiety (P value = 0.027). Conclusion A considerable proportion of JIA adolescent patients exhibited symptoms of either borderline or diagnosis consistent with anxiety and to a lesser extent with depression during the COVID-19 pandemic but with no significant difference with the control group. JIA and its related variables had no effect on psychological outcome of the patients compared to control. JIA patients who necessitated hospital admission were more likely to show higher anxiety levels. Attention should be paid to patients with JIA particularly those requiring frequent hospital admissions and their psychiatric symptoms during such pandemics to avoid unfavorable psychiatric hazards.