TABLE. Age-standardized prevalence* of anxiety symptoms and depression symptoms† among adults aged ≥18 years with arthritis,§ by selected characteristics — National Health Interview Survey, 2015–2017.
| Characteristic | Anxiety symptoms |
Depression symptoms |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sample size | Unweighted no. | % (95% CI)¶ | Sample size | Unweighted no. | % (95% CI)¶ | |
|
Overall
|
12,094 |
2,039 |
22.5 (20.8–24.3) |
12,083 |
1,304 |
12.1 (10.8–13.4) |
|
Sociodemographic
| ||||||
|
Age group (yrs)¶
| ||||||
| 18–44 |
1,390 |
409 |
28.3 (25.2–31.5) |
1,391 |
204 |
13.7 (11.5–16.2) |
| 45–64 |
4,730 |
1,034 |
19.5 (18.1–21.0) |
4,718 |
704 |
12.5 (11.4–13.8) |
| ≥65 |
5,974 |
596 |
9.7 (8.8–10.7) |
5,974 |
396 |
6.2 (5.5–7.1) |
|
Sex
| ||||||
| Men |
4,604 |
592 |
16.0 (13.8–18.5) |
4,594 |
382 |
9.2 (7.4–11.4) |
| Women |
7,490 |
1,447 |
26.9 (24.5–29.4) |
7,489 |
922 |
14.0 (12.4–15.8) |
|
Race/Ethnicity**
| ||||||
| White |
9,195 |
1,556 |
23.9 (21.8–26.1) |
9,187 |
953 |
12.0 (10.5–13.6) |
| Black |
1,392 |
189 |
17.8 (13.8–22.7) |
1,389 |
152 |
13.6 (9.6–18.8) |
| Hispanic |
921 |
190 |
20.3 (15.9–25.7) |
920 |
131 |
12.4 (9.4–16.0) |
| Asian |
285 |
26 |
10.6 (4.7–22.0) |
285 |
20 |
3.4 (1.8–6.1) |
| American Indian/Alaska Native |
87 |
24 |
21.7 (10.7–39.1) |
87 |
17 |
15.4 (7.9–27.7) |
| Other/Multiple race |
214 |
54 |
32.3 (21.6–45.4) |
215 |
31 |
17.4 (8.5–32.1) |
|
Education
| ||||||
| Less than high school graduate |
1,784 |
379 |
27.9 (22.9–33.4) |
1,780 |
282 |
19.4 (15.4–24.2) |
| High school graduate or equivalent |
3,347 |
549 |
23.1 (19.5–27.2) |
3,352 |
346 |
12.9 (10.1–16.3) |
| Technical school/Some college |
3,816 |
676 |
23.8 (21.2–26.7) |
3,804 |
439 |
11.8 (9.9–13.9) |
| College degree or higher |
3,108 |
426 |
17.9 (15.1–21.2) |
3,107 |
234 |
8.6 (6.8–10.8) |
|
Employment status
| ||||||
| Employed/Self-employed |
4,453 |
643 |
17.0 (14.9–19.2) |
4,453 |
323 |
7.0 (5.9–8.3) |
| Unemployed |
250 |
86 |
32.9 (24.9–42.1) |
250 |
56 |
19.6 (12.8–28.9) |
| Unable to work/Disabled |
6,916 |
1,197 |
36.6 (32.0–41.4) |
6,910 |
863 |
25.9 (21.7–30.7) |
| Other |
472 |
113 |
26.9 (21.1–33.7) |
467 |
62 |
14.9 (10.4–20.9) |
|
Income-to-poverty ratio (IPR)††
| ||||||
| Poor (IPR<100%) |
1,796 |
605 |
37.0 (32.5–41.7) |
1,792 |
449 |
27.1 (22.9–31.9) |
| Near poor (100%≤IPR<125%) |
714 |
159 |
28.6 (21.4–37.0) |
715 |
99 |
16.2 (10.6–23.9) |
| Low income (125%≤IPR<200%) |
1,891 |
319 |
27.0 (22.2–32.5) |
1,889 |
206 |
12.7 (9.7–16.5) |
| Middle income (200%≤IPR<400%) |
3,579 |
542 |
21.1 (17.7–24.9) |
3,579 |
336 |
11.2 (9.2–13.5) |
| High income (IPR≥400%) |
4,115 |
414 |
15.3 (12.9–18.0) |
4,108 |
214 |
6.0 (4.6–7.8) |
|
Sexual identity
| ||||||
| Heterosexual |
11,625 |
1,903 |
21.7 (20.0–23.6) |
11,614 |
1,205 |
11.6 (10.3–13.0) |
| Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Other |
323 |
104 |
36.9 (29.0–45.5) |
323 |
76 |
21.3 (15.7–28.2) |
|
Health-related
| ||||||
|
BMI (kg/m2)
| ||||||
| Underweight/Healthy weight (<25) |
3,080 |
519 |
24.2 (20.9–27.8) |
3,078 |
312 |
11.6 (9.5–14.0) |
| Overweight (25 to <30) |
3,866 |
549 |
16.6 (14.0–19.6) |
3,865 |
350 |
9.4 (7.5–11.8) |
| Obese (≥30) |
4,797 |
912 |
25.6 (22.8–28.6) |
4,785 |
615 |
14.2 (12.1–16.5) |
|
No. of co-occurring chronic conditions§§
| ||||||
| 0 |
3,031 |
435 |
18.0 (15.6–20.6) |
3,029 |
234 |
8.1 (6.6–9.8) |
| 1–2 |
6,358 |
979 |
23.6 (20.8–26.5) |
6,355 |
590 |
13.0 (11.0–15.3) |
| ≥3 |
2,705 |
625 |
40.2 (33.5–47.2) |
2,699 |
480 |
27.9 (22.0–34.6) |
|
Psychological distress¶¶
| ||||||
| None/Mild (K6≤4) |
8,495 |
388 |
6.7 (5.4–8.3) |
8,487 |
122 |
1.6 (1.1–2.3) |
| Moderate (5≤K6≤12) |
2,719 |
997 |
40.8 (37.4–44.2) |
2,721 |
594 |
20.1 (17.5–23.0) |
| Severe (K6≥13) |
817 |
635 |
81.9 (77.4–85.7) |
813 |
573 |
67.6 (60.4–74.0) |
|
Self-rated health
| ||||||
| Excellent/Very good |
4,669 |
424 |
15.3 (12.9–18.1) |
4,659 |
193 |
5.5 (4.0–7.5) |
| Good |
4,037 |
593 |
20.5 (17.9–23.3) |
4,041 |
339 |
10.3 (8.5–12.4) |
| Fair/Poor |
3,385 |
1,020 |
36.8 (33.0–40.7) |
3,380 |
772 |
25.1 (21.8–28.8) |
|
Chronic pain***
| ||||||
| No |
6,317 |
592 |
14.7 (12.6–17.1) |
6,310 |
299 |
6.0 (4.8–7.6) |
| Yes |
5,765 |
1,446 |
31.2 (28.4–34.0) |
5,769 |
1,005 |
18.7 (16.6–21.0) |
|
Arthritis-attributable activity limitations†††
| ||||||
| No |
6,667 |
692 |
15.6 (13.7–17.7) |
6,666 |
383 |
7.3 (6.0–8.8) |
| Yes |
5,423 |
1,346 |
32.5 (29.5–35.7) |
5,413 |
921 |
18.9 (16.6–21.5) |
|
Aerobic physical activity level§§§
| ||||||
| Active |
4,658 |
630 |
18.7 (16.3–21.3) |
4,657 |
330 |
8.2 (6.9–9.9) |
| Insufficient |
2,708 |
475 |
24.5 (20.9–28.5) |
2,703 |
296 |
12.3 (10.1–15.0) |
| Inactive |
4,572 |
899 |
26.8 (23.3–30.6) |
4,567 |
655 |
18.1 (14.9–21.9) |
|
Smoking status¶¶¶
| ||||||
| Current smoker |
1,987 |
599 |
31.8 (28.3–35.5) |
1,985 |
430 |
21.5 (18.6–24.8) |
| Former smoker |
4,080 |
604 |
25.2 (21.4–29.5) |
4,077 |
379 |
10.9 (8.6–13.8) |
| Never smoker |
6,016 |
832 |
17.5 (15.3–19.8) |
6,009 |
494 |
8.6 (7.1–10.3) |
|
Binge drank alcohol in past 30 days****
| ||||||
| No |
10,870 |
1,777 |
22.3 (20.3–24.3) |
10,856 |
1,157 |
11.7 (10.3–13.2) |
| Yes |
1,074 |
227 |
23.9 (20.2–28.0) |
1,075 |
126 |
13.5 (10.5–17.3) |
|
Have usual place for care
| ||||||
| No |
551 |
108 |
22.1 (16.5–28.9) |
553 |
69 |
11.0 (7.8–15.2) |
| Yes | 11,543 | 1,931 | 22.5 (20.7–24.4) | 11,530 | 1,235 | 12.1 (10.8–13.6) |
Abbreviations: BMI = body mass index; CI = confidence interval; K6 = Kessler-6 score.
* Estimates were age-standardized to the 2000 projected U.S. population aged ≥18 years using three groups (18–44 years, 45–64 years, and ≥65 years).
† Respondents were classified based on a frequency question (anxiety: “How often do you feel worried, nervous or anxious?” and depression: “How often do you feel depressed?”) and an intensity question (anxiety: “Thinking about the last time you felt worried, nervous or anxious, how would you describe the level of these feelings?” and depression: “Thinking about the last time you felt depressed, how depressed did you feel?”). Respondents were classified as having symptoms if they responded “daily” or “weekly” to the frequency question and “a lot” or “in between a little and a lot” to the intensity question. Respondents were classified as not having symptoms if they responded “daily” or “weekly” to the frequency question and “a little” to the intensity question, or if they responded “monthly,” “a few times a year,” or “never” to the frequency question. For each symptom, the remaining respondents were excluded from the analysis because their symptom status could not be identified.
§ Respondents were classified as having arthritis if they responded “yes” to the question “Have you ever been told by a doctor or other health care professional that you have arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, lupus, or fibromyalgia?” Respondents with the values, “don’t know,” “missing,” or “refused,” for the arthritis case-finding question were excluded from the analytic sample.
¶ Age group percentages are age-specific, and all other percentages are age-standardized.
** Persons who identified as Hispanic might be of any race. Persons who identified with a racial group were all non-Hispanic.
†† Income-to-poverty ratio was calculated using income data generated using multiple imputation.
§§ Among nine chronic conditions (asthma, cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, heart disease, hepatitis, hypertension, kidney disease, and stroke).
¶¶ Psychological distress was classified using the Kessler-6 scale, a 24-point scale capturing the presence and severity of nonspecific psychological distress symptoms in the past 30 days, as none/mild (Kessler-6 score [K6]≤4), moderate (5≤K6≤12), and severe (K6≥13).
*** Respondents were classified as having chronic pain if they reported having pain most days or every day in the past 3 months.
††† Respondents were classified as having arthritis-attributable activity limitations if they responded “yes” to the question “Are you now limited in any way in any of your usual activities because of arthritis or joint symptoms?”
§§§ Respondents were classified as active based on the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans if they reported ≥150 minutes of moderate intensity leisure time aerobic physical activity per week, insufficiently active if they reported 1–149 minutes, and inactive if they reported zero minutes. Reported vigorous intensity physical activity minutes were counted double and added to moderate intensity physical activity minutes.
¶¶¶ Respondents were classified as ever having smoked if they had smoked at least 100 cigarettes in their lifetime.
**** Binge drinking was defined as consuming five or more drinks (men) or four or more drinks (women) over a 2-hour period.