Associations of mental health, sleep and cognition characteristics with rheumatoid arthritis and rheumatoid factor in the UK Biobank

Stanciu, I., Anderson, J. , Siebert, S. , Mackay, D. and Lyall, D. M. (2022) Associations of mental health, sleep and cognition characteristics with rheumatoid arthritis and rheumatoid factor in the UK Biobank. Scientific Reports, 12, 19844. (doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-22021-6) (PMID:36400784) (PMCID:PMC9674828)

Abstract

While previous rheumatoid arthritis (RA) studies have focussed on cardiometabolic and lifestyle factors, less research has focussed on psychological variables including mood and cognitive health, and sleep. Cross-sectional analyses tested for associations between RA and RF+ (positive rheumatoid factor) vs. mental health (depression, anxiety, neuroticism), sleep variables and cognition scores in UK Biobank (total n = 484,064). Those RF+ were more likely to report longer sleep duration (β = 0.01, SE = 0.004, p < 0.01) and less likely to get up in the morning easily (OR 0.95, 95% CI 0.92–0.99, p = 0.01). Those reporting RA were more likely to score higher for neuroticism (β = 0.05, SE = 0.01, p < 0.001), to nap during the day (OR 1.10, 95% CI 1.06–1.14, p < 0.001), have insomnia (OR 1.28, 95% CI 1.22–1.35, p < 0.001), have slower reaction times (β = 0.02, SE = 0.008, p < 0.005) and score less for fluid intelligence (β = − 0.03, SE = 0.01, p < 0.05) and less likely to get up easily (OR 0.61, 95% CI 0.58–0.64, p < 0.001). The current study suggests that prevalent RA, and RF+ status are associated with differences in mental health, sleep, and cognition, highlighting the importance of addressing these aspects in clinical settings and future research.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Mackay, Professor Daniel and Siebert, Professor Stefan and Lyall, Dr Donald and Stanciu, Miss Ioana and Anderson, Dr Jana
• Authors: Stanciu, I., Anderson, J., Siebert, S., Mackay, D., and Lyall, D. M.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Health & Wellbeing > Public Health; College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Infection & Immunity; College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Psychology & Neuroscience
• Research Centre: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Infection & Immunity > Centre for Immunobiology
• Journal Name: Scientific Reports
• Publisher: Nature Research
• ISSN: 2045-2322
• ISSN (Online): 2045-2322
• Published Online: 18 November 2022
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © The Author(s) 2022
• First Published: First published in Scientific Reports 12(1):19844
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons license