Depression in Sjögren's syndrome mediates the relationship between pain, fatigue, sleepiness, and overall quality of life

Tiago Costa; Stephen P Rushton; Stuart Watson; Wan-Fai Ng; UK primary Sjögren's Syndrome Registry

doi:10.2478/rir-2023-0012

Depression in Sjögren's syndrome mediates the relationship between pain, fatigue, sleepiness, and overall quality of life

Rheumatol Immunol Res. 2023 Jul 22;4(2):78-89. doi: 10.2478/rir-2023-0012. eCollection 2023 Jun.

Authors

Tiago Costa^{1

2

3}, Stephen P Rushton⁴, Stuart Watson^{1

2

3}, Wan-Fai Ng^{1

5

6}; UK primary Sjögren's Syndrome Registry

Affiliations

¹ Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, The Medical School, Newcastle University, Framlington Place, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 4HH, UK.
² Northern Centre for Mood Disorders, Wolfson Research Centre, Campus for Ageing and Vitality, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE4 5PL, UK.
³ Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust, St. Nicholas Hospital, Jubilee Road, Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE3 3XT, UK.
⁴ School of Natural and Environmental Science, Agriculture Building, Newcastle University, King's Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK.
⁵ National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Newcastle Biomedical Research Centre, Biomedical Research Building, Campus for Ageing and Vitality, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE4 5PL, UK.
⁶ NIHR Newcastle Clinical Research Facility, Level 6, Leazes Wing, Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Queen Victoria Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4LP, UK.

Abstract

Objectives: Sjögren's syndrome (SS) includes many extra-glandular symptoms such as fatigue, pain, sleepiness and depression, which impact on quality of life (QoL). These symptoms also influence each other and could be linked by autonomic nervous system (ANS) dysregulation. Our aim was to model the role of putative predictive variables, including depression in the relationships between ANS function, fatigue, and QoL in SS.

Methods: Cross-sectional analysis of self-reported data from the multicentre UK primary SS registry. The Composite Autonomic Symptom Scale (COMPASS) was used to assess autonomic function, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) to assess anxiety and depression and the EuroQol-5 Dimension (EQ-5D) to assess QoL. Validated scales were used for other clinical variables. Using multiple regression analysis and structural equation modelling (SEM), we investigated how the QoL of people with SS is impacted by the direct and indirect effects of fatigue, sleepiness, depression, symptom burden and ANS function, and their interactions.

Results: Data was obtained for 1046 people with SS, 56% COMPASS completers. Symptoms of ANS dysregulation were common. Participants with ANS dysregulation had more severe depression, anxiety, dryness, fatigue, pain, sleepiness and QoL (P < 0.01 for all). Depression, anxiety, dryness, and pain were independent predictors of ANS function in the multiple regression model (P < 0.05 for all). ANS function could not be included in the SEM. The SEM model had good fit to the data (comparative fit index = 0.998) and showed that, in people with SS, depression mediates the effects of pain, fatigue and sleepiness on QoL.

Conclusion: Our results show that diagnosing and treating depression in people with SS could have direct positive impact on QoL, and significantly ameliorate the impact of fatigue and pain.

Keywords: Sjögren’s syndrome; autonomic function; depression; fatigue; quality of life.

Grants and funding

This research was funded by the Medical Research Council (grant number G0800629, for establishment of the UKPSSR) and the British Sjögren’s Syndrome Association.