Subthreshold mood symptoms in patients with fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis

Although several findings have highlighted the prevalence of Axis I psychiatric disorders in fibromyalgia (FM) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA), very little information is available on the prevalence of subthreshold mood symptoms in these conditions. Therefore, we aimed at comparing the prevalence of subthreshold mood symptoms in rheumatic patients suffering from FM and RA. The hypothesis is that subthreshold mood symptoms are more represented in FM, given the evidence of higher rates of Axis I psychopathology in FM than in RA. Sixty patients suffering from FM and 50 from RA, assessed according to the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria, selected in a Rheumatology Department, were included in the study. The subthreshold affective symptoms were assessed by means of the Mood Spectrum-Self Report (MOODS-SR). The results showed that FM patients presented significantly higher scores than RA patients in 'mood depressive', 'cognition depressive' domains and in total depressive component. The present study demonstrates that subthreshold depressive symptoms are more represented in FM than in RA patients. This fact could play a role in the worse quality of life and in the major perception of pain which characterises FM.