CLINICAL IMPACT OF DEPRESSION ON TREATMENT OUTCOMES IN RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS: A LITERATURE REVIEW

Maciej Błaszczak; Wiktoria  Leja; Katarzyna  Latalska; Zeeshan  Zulfiqar; Jakub Kot; Katarzyna  Czechowicz; Maciej  Szczupaj; Andżelika  Pastuszak; Konrad Borkowski; Jakub  Rudnicki

doi:10.31435/ijitss.2(50).2026.5230

Authors

Maciej Błaszczak University Clinical Hospital No. 4 in Lublin, Lublin, Poland https://orcid.org/0009-0000-0216-6870
Wiktoria Leja University Clinical Hospital No. 4 in Lublin, Lublin, Poland https://orcid.org/0009-0001-1817-2607
Katarzyna Latalska University Clinical Hospital No. 4 in Lublin, Lublin, Poland https://orcid.org/0009-0009-8102-8948
Zeeshan Zulfiqar Medical Student, Faculty of Medicine, Medical University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland https://orcid.org/0009-0001-8967-1737
Jakub Kot University Clinical Hospital No. 1 in Lublin, Lublin, Poland https://orcid.org/0009-0001-9097-2887
Katarzyna Czechowicz Stefan Cardinal Wyszyński Provincial Specialist Hospital SPZOZ in Lublin, Lublin, Poland https://orcid.org/0009-0009-0414-4531
Maciej Szczupaj University Clinical Hospital No. 4 in Lublin, Lublin, Poland https://orcid.org/0009-0003-2598-5694
Andżelika Pastuszak University Clinical Hospital No. 4 in Lublin, Lublin, Poland https://orcid.org/0009-0009-2182-6032
Konrad Borkowski University Clinical Hospital No. 4 in Lublin, Lublin, Poland https://orcid.org/0009-0006-2704-1752
Jakub Rudnicki University Clinical Hospital No. 4 in Lublin, Lublin, Poland https://orcid.org/0009-0000-8128-6386

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31435/ijitss.2(50).2026.5230

Keywords:

Arthritis, Rheumatoid, Depression, Treatment Outcome, Medication Adherence, Patient Reported Outcome Measures

Abstract

Depression is a common comorbidity in rheumatoid arthritis, however we still don't know enough about how it affects treatment outcomes. This systematic review aims to assess the clinical influence of depression on disease activity, remission rates, pharmacological treatment response, patient-reported outcomes, and treatment adherence behaviour in individuals with rheumatoid arthritis. A thorough literature review was performed using PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science. We focused on studies published from 2020 to 2026 that evaluated depressive symptoms through validated instruments and reported at least one treatment-related outcome. The results consistently indicated that comorbid depression correlated with greatly elevated composite disease activity scores. It was mostly influenced by subjective rather than objective components. Patients exhibiting depressive symptoms were less likely to attain remission and demonstrated diminished responses to both conventional synthetic and biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs. Depression was also found to be a strong independent predictor of worse health-related quality of life, more pain, more functional disability and less adherence to treatment. These findings underscore the necessity for regular depression screening in rheumatology practice and advocate for the incorporation of mental health interventions into the management of rheumatoid arthritis to enhance treatment outcomes.

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