Low- and high-anxious hypermobile Ehlers–Danlos syndrome patients: comparison of psychosocial and health variables

Abstract

Despite the frequent co-ocurrence of hypermobile Ehler-Danlos syndrome (hEDS) and pathological anxiety, little is known about the psychosocial and health implications of such comorbidity. Our aim was to explore the association between high levels of anxiety and psychosocial (catastrophizing, kinesiophobia, somatosensory amplification, social support and functioning), health (pain, fatigue, BMI, tobacco/alcohol use, depression, diagnosis delay, general health), and sociodemographic factors in people with hEDS. In this cross-sectional study, 80 hEDS patients were divided into two groups according to self-reported anxiety levels: low and high. Psychosocial, sociodemographic and health variables were compared between the groups. Forty-one participants reported a high level of anxiety (51.2%). No differences were found in the sociodemographic variables between high-anxious and low-anxious patients. The percentage of participants with severe fatigue and high depressive symptomatology was significantly higher in the high-anxious group (80.5 vs 56.4; 26.8 vs 12.8%, respectively). High-anxious hEDS patients also showed significantly higher levels of pain catastrophizing, somatosensory amplification as well as a poorer social functioning and general health. Multivariate analyses showed that somatosensory amplification, pain catastrophizing and poor social functioning are variables that increase the probability of belonging to the high-anxious group. Despite limitations, this first study comparing high-anxious versus low-anxious hEDS patients with respect to health aspects, highlight the importance of considering the psychosocial factors (many susceptible to modification), to improve the adjustment to this chronic condition and provide support to those affected through a biopsychosocial approach.

Prevalence of Generalized Joint Hypermobility in Children with Anxiety Disorders

“…We found that more than half the children with anxiety disorders along with hypermobility were boys, which is inconsistent with other studies (24,25). This is while based on regression analysis in our study sex was not a predicting factor for hypermobility in children with anxiety disorders.…”

Custom-Made Foot Orthoses Reduce Pain and Fatigue in Patients with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. A Pilot Study

“…Improving this mental dimension may have been a result of foot pain reduction and foot functionality improvement, with a consequent enhanced sense of well-being. Nevertheless, the possibility that participation in the study could have had a positive effect on the individuals' outlook must be considered, as patients with EDS have difficulty when they try to gain access to appropriate treatment [1,6].…”

“…The Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) is a heterogeneous group of heritable disorders affecting the matrix of proteins of connective tissue [1]. The prevalence is estimated between 1:5000 and 1:20,000 [2], and is more frequent in females, representing 90% of all cases [3].…”

Kinesiophobia in Hearing Loss

“…According to the current data it has been observed that kinesiophobia is affected by a small number of musculoskeletal chronic disorders (low back pain, osteoporosis) on the quality of life and functions. Additionally, clinical pain intensity was found significantly higher in patients with a high degree of kinesiophobia compared with patients with a low degree of kinesiophobia 10 . Overall kinesiophobia appears to have an adverse effect on balance and mobility in individuals with advanced age musculoskeletal complaints [11][12][13][14][15] .…”