PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - TAMAR F. BRIONEZ AU - SHERVIN ASSASSI AU - JOHN D. REVEILLE AU - CHARLES GREEN AU - THOMAS LEARCH AU - LAURA DIEKMAN AU - MICHAEL M. WARD AU - JOHN C. DAVIS, Jr AU - MICHAEL H. WEISMAN AU - PERRY NICASSIO TI - Psychological Correlates of Self-reported Disease Activity in Ankylosing Spondylitis AID - 10.3899/jrheum.090476 DP - 2010 Apr 01 TA - The Journal of Rheumatology PG - 829--834 VI - 37 IP - 4 4099 - http://www.jrheum.org/content/37/4/829.short 4100 - http://www.jrheum.org/content/37/4/829.full SO - J Rheumatol2010 Apr 01; 37 AB - Objective. To investigate the role of psychological variables in self-reported disease activity in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS), while controlling for demographic and medical variables. Methods. Patients with AS (n = 294) meeting modified New York criteria completed psychological measures evaluating depression, resilience, active and passive coping, internality, and helplessness. Demographic, clinical, and radiologic data were also collected. Univariate and multivariate analyses were completed to determine the strength of the correlation of psychological variables with disease activity, as measured by the Bath AS Disease Activity Index (BASDAI). Results. In the multivariate regression analysis, the psychological variables contributed significantly to the variance in BASDAI scores, adding an additional 33% to the overall R-square beyond that accounted for by demographic and medical variables (combined R-square 18%). Specifically, arthritis helplessness and depression accounted for the most significant portion of the variance in BASDAI scores in the final model. Conclusion. Arthritis helplessness and depression accounted for significant variability in self-reported disease activity beyond clinical and demographic variables in patients with AS. These findings have important clinical implications in the treatment and monitoring of disease activity in AS, and suggest potential avenues of intervention.