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. 2024 Sep 20;8(1):46.
doi: 10.1186/s41927-024-00416-4.

Socioeconomic status, reserve capacity, and depressive symptoms predict pain in Rheumatoid Arthritis: an examination of the reserve capacity model

Desiree R Azizoddin  1   2 , Richard Olmstead  3 , Kris-Ann Anderson  4 , Alanna E Hirz  5 , Michael R Irwin  3 , Shadi Gholizadeh  6 , Michael Weisman  7 , Mariko Ishimori  7 , Daniel Wallace  7 , Perry Nicassio  3
Affiliations

Socioeconomic status, reserve capacity, and depressive symptoms predict pain in Rheumatoid Arthritis: an examination of the reserve capacity model

Desiree R Azizoddin et al. BMC Rheumatol. .

Abstract

Background: Guided by the reserve capacity model, we evaluated the unique relationships between socioeconomic status (SES), reserve capacity (helplessness, self-efficacy, social support), and negative emotions on pain in patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA).

Methods: The secondary analysis used baseline, cross-sectional data from 106 adults in a clinical trial comparing behavioral treatments for RA. Patients were eligible if they were ≥ 18 years old, met the ACR criteria for RA (determined by study rheumatologist), had stable disease and drug regimens for 3 months, and did not have a significant comorbid condition. Structural equation modeling evaluated the direct effects of SES, reserve capacity (helplessness- Arthritis Helplessness Index, self-efficacy -Personal Mastery Scale, social support- Social Provisions Scale) and negative emotions (stress and depressive symptoms- Perceived Stress Scale and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale) on pain (Rapid Assessment of Disease Activity in Rheumatology-RADAR & visual analog scale-VAS), and the indirect effects of SES as mediated by reserve capacity and negative emotions. The SEM model was evaluated using multiple fit criteria: χ2 goodness-of-fit statistic, the comparative fit index (CFI), the standardized root mean square residual (SRMR), and the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA).

Results: Participants were mostly female (85%), 55.45 years old on average, self-identified as white (61%), Hispanic (16%), black (13%), and other (10%), and had RA for an average of 10.63 years. Results showed that low SES contributed to worse pain, through lower reserve capacity and higher negative emotions. Mediational analyses showed that reserve capacity and negative emotions partially mediated the effect of SES on pain. The final model explained 39% of the variance in pain.

Conclusions: The findings indicate that lower SES was related to worse clinical pain outcomes and negative emotions and reserve capacity (helplessness, social support, and self-efficacy) mediated the effect of SES on pain. A primary limitation is the small sample size; future studies should evaluate this model further in larger, longitudinal approaches. Interventions that target negative emotions in patients with low SES may facilitate better pain control with RA.

Trial registration: clinicaltrials.gov NCT00072657 01/02/2004 20/03/2009.

Keywords: Depressive symptoms; Pain; Psychosocial factors; Rheumatoid arthritis; Socioeconomic factors.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Hypothesized direct and indirect effects of SES, reserve capacity, and negative emotions on Rheumatoid Arthritis pain
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Final structural model with standardized path coefficients and factor loadings of SES, reserve capacity, and negative emotions on Rheumatoid Arthritis pain. Notes. †pathway set to 1.0. Dashes lines indicate paths dropped from model. AHI = Arthritis Helplessness Index. PMS = Personal Mastery Scale. SPS = Social Provisions Scale. HDRS = Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. PSS = Perceived Stress Scale. PANAS Negative = Negative Affect scale of the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule. RADAR Total Joint = Rapid Assessment of Disease Activity in Rheumatology total joint score. Pain VAS = Pain visual analog scale. *p < .05; **p < .01; ***p < .001
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