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Grondin et al. | Journal of Clinical and Translational Research 2024; 10(2): 141-150 147
Table 5. Psychological assessments of patients with versus without Table 5. (Continued)
articular structural involvement Psychological parameters With ASI Without ASI P‑value
Psychological parameters With ASI Without ASI P‑value (n=14) (n=26)
(n=14) (n=26) Severe147 0 (0%) 3 (11.5%)
Depression 11 (78.6%) 20 (76.9%) 1 Professional impact 0.009*
Depression intensity 1 Mild/moderate 11 (84.6%) 10 (40.0%)
Mild/moderate 9 (81.8%) 17 (85.0%) Severe 2 (15.4%) 15 (60.0%)
Severe 2 (18.2%) 3 (15.0%) Manual labor 7 (50%) 15 (57.7%) 0.641
Previous depression 14 (100%) 19 (73.1%) 0.075 Physical activity enjoyment 3 (21.4%) 15 (57.7%) 0.028*
Anxiety 14 (100%) 26 (100%) 1 pre-diagnosis
Anxiety intensity 0.079 Physical activity enjoyment 2 (14.3%) 4 (15.4%) 1
Mild/moderate 4 (28.6%) 15 (57.7%) post-diagnosis
Severe 10 (71.4%) 11 (42.3%) Note: Data are expressed as n (%) and compared using the Chi-squared test or Fisher’s
exact test accordingly; *P<0.05.
Alexithymia 14 (100%) 25 (96.2%) 1 Abbreviations: ASI: Articular structural involvement; NA: Not applicable.
Alexithymia intensity 0.584
Mild/moderate 6 (42.9%) 13 (52.0%) ideation or behavior [43]. The development of brodalumab, a
Severe 8 (57.1%) 12 (48.0%) molecule targeting interleukin-17, was stopped after suicidal
Social desirability 0.222 behaviors were observed during clinical trials [44,45].
Mild/moderate 13 (92.9%) 19 (73.1%) Our results, consistent with the previous studies, suggested
Severe 1 (7.1%) 7 (26.9%) a bidirectional relationship between depressive syndrome and
Emotional repression 0.191 biological inflammatory syndrome, but this finding should be
Mild/moderate 10 (71.4%) 13 (50.0%) validated in a longitudinal study. It remains to be determined
Severe 4 (28.6%) 13 (50.0%) whether systemic inflammation could induce emotional symptoms
Conflict-management style 0.102 through neuronal cells or whether these emotional disorders are
Avoidance 9 (64.3%) 23 (88.5%) considered biological inflammatory syndrome that subsequently
Intermediate 5 (35.7%) 3 (11.5%) trigger the onset of CIR.
Tendency to cede responsibility to others 0.533 One of the main limitations of this preliminary study was the
Mild/moderate 14 (100%) 24 (92.3%) lack of statistical power due to a small sample size. However, this
Severe 0 (0%) 2 (7.7%) pilot study investigated potential associations between CIR and
Persecution complex 5 (35.7%) 8 (30.8%) 1 biopsychosocial factors, and its findings are indicative of areas that
should be examined in greater depth in future studies. In addition,
Somatic complaints 0.031* because this was an observational study, no conclusions could be
Mild/moderate 6 (42.9%) 21 (80.8%) drawn about any association with causality. As this was a cross-
Severe 8 (57.1%) 5 (19.2%) sectional investigation, it was not possible to determine whether
Psychological complaints 0.48 the primary emotional regulation disorders, possibly contributing
Mild/moderate 8 (57.1%) 19 (73.1%) to the rheumatological disease onset or secondary disorders,
Severe 6 (42.9%) 7 (26.9%) should be interpreted as adaptive or coping modalities to handle
Emotional expressivity intensity 0.007* a functional handicap or limiting pain caused by the disease. Our
Mild/moderate 5 (35.7%) 21 (80.8%) study suffered from two selection biases: (i) it was a monocentric
Severe 9 (64.3%) 5 (19.2%) study recruiting patients at a university hospital, representing a
Life event 1 9 (69.2%) 14 (58.3%) 0.724 particular sociodemographic status; and (ii) most patients were
Life event 1 intensity 1 assessed in a day for severe pathologies and comorbidities.
Mild/moderate 5 (55.6%) 7 (50.0%) Furthermore, the clinical psychological parameters chosen for
Severe 4 (44.4%) 7 (50.0%) assessment, although not subjected to consensual agreement,
Life event 2 12 (85.7%) 25 (96.2%) 0.276 corresponded to clinical entities. Nonetheless, participants in this
Life event 2 intensity 1 study benefited from combined psychiatric and rheumatological
Mild/moderate 8 (66.7%) 16 (64.0%) assessments during a day of hospitalization, which is considered
Severe 4 (33.3%) 9 (36.0%) novel, enabling the evaluation of a large number of psychological
Heavy conflictual load over 11 (78.6%) 23 (88.5%) 0.646 factors and comparing them to concomitant rheumatological
the last three years findings.
Somatic escalade 6 (42.9%) 4 (15.4%) 0.123
Actual stress level 0.539 5. Conclusion
Mild/moderate 14 (100%) 23 (88.5%) Our study established an association between emotional
(Cont’d...) repression, intense life events, and the etiology and development
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36922/jctr.23.00099