Motor Ability and Emotions in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients

Objective: The aim is to determine the influence of emotional status on motor response velocity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Materials and Method: The study included 53 women with rheumatoid arthritis and 27 healthy women. Depression was diagnosed using the Beck Scale for Depression (Beck Depression Inventory-BDI), anxiety using Spielberger’s anxiety test (Spielberger Trait Anxiety Inventory-State and Traite), functional status (Health Assessment Questionnaire, HAQ), and disease activity using the activity index disease (DAS 28). Simple and choice reaction time was determined using a computer program Donders. Results: Mean visuomotor reaction time (RT1, RT2, RT3) were significantly lower in the group of patients with rheumatoid arthritis than in the control group (p<0.001). In the group of anxious-depressive patients was found significant differences in average values of simple and choice reaction time when compared to the pain by the VAS scale (p<0.001), but not in the group of anxious patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Conclusion: The anxious-depressive patients had damaged motor abilities, which are manifested by significantly longer simple and choice reaction time, when compared to the anxious RA patients and healthy people. The anxiousdepressive RA patients had the higher intensity of pain which correlated with longer visuomotor reaction time.