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. 2022 Aug;4(8):647-657.
doi: 10.1002/acr2.11439. Epub 2022 May 23.

Mental Health Care Use and Associated Factors in Systemic Sclerosis: A Scleroderma Patient-Centered Intervention Network Cohort Study

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Mental Health Care Use and Associated Factors in Systemic Sclerosis: A Scleroderma Patient-Centered Intervention Network Cohort Study

Karima Becetti et al. ACR Open Rheumatol. 2022 Aug.

Abstract

Objective: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) has significant psychosocial implications. We aimed to evaluate the proportion of participants in a large international SSc cohort who used mental health services in a 3-month period and to evaluate demographic, psychological, and disease-specific factors associated with use.

Methods: Baseline data of participants enrolled in the Scleroderma Patient-Centered Intervention Network Cohort were analyzed. We determined the proportion that used mental health services and the source of services in the 3 months prior to enrollment. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify variables associated with service use.

Results: Of the 2319 participants included in the analysis, 417 (18%) used mental health services in the 3 months prior to enrollment. General practitioners were the most common mental health service providers (59%), followed by psychologists (25%) and psychiatrists (19%). In multivariable analysis, mental health service use was independently associated with higher education (odds ratio [OR] 1.07, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.03-1.11), smoking (OR 1.06, 95% CI 1.02-1.11), being retired (OR 0.60, 95% CI 0.38-0.93), having limited SSc (OR 1.39, 95% CI 1.02-1.89), and having higher anxiety symptom scores (OR 1.04, 95% CI 1.03-1.06) and lower self-efficacy scores (OR 0.90, 95% CI 0.83-0.97). Variables not significantly associated included age, race, disease manifestations, depression symptom scores, and body image distress.

Conclusion: About 18% of participants in a large international cohort received mental health services in a 3-month period, of whom the majority received these services from a general practitioner.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Rate of mental health services (MHS) use in the 3 months prior to enrollment and type of mental health provider in the entire cohort and by depression symptom score. Thirty‐seven percent of participants received MHS from more than one type of provider, adding up to a total of more than 100%. Patient Health Questionnaire–8 (PHQ‐8) scores were available for 2220 participants and 392 of those who used MHS. *The “other” provider group included social workers, physical and occasional therapists, gastroenterologists, pulmonologists, cardiologists, and other subspecialists. GP, general practitioner.

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