BOSTON – Patients diagnosed with carpel tunnel syndrome are more likely to be anxious and depressed and to have lower levels of mental and physical health functioning and job satisfaction, compared with individuals without the common wrist condition, Jason Goodson said at the annual meeting of the Society of Behavioral Medicine.
Findings in a study suggest that brief assessments of psychosocial functioning when evaluating patients for carpel tunnel syndrome (CTS) might be useful for understanding and treating the condition, as well as for improving the prognosis, Mr. Goodson said at the annual meeting of the Society of Behavioral Medicine.
The case-control study compared the psychosocial functioning of 87 patients diagnosed with CTS (based on clinical symptoms and electrodiagnostic confirmation) with that of 74 gender-matched control patients from the same orthopedic clinic. All of the study participants completed self-report questionnaires that included measures of depression, anxiety, somatization, health locus of control, job satisfaction, and mental and physical functioning.
Univariate analyses showed that the CTS patients had significantly higher levels of anxiety, depression, and other health locus of control beliefs. They had significantly lower levels of job satisfaction and mental and physical health functioning, said Mr. Goodson of Utah State University, Logan.
Measures of job satisfaction and physical health functioning were statistically significant predictors of CTS in a multiple logistic regression analysis, with adjusted odds ratios of 0.92 and 0.70, respectively, noted Mr. Goodson, who conducted the study under the direction of M. Scott DeBerard, Ph.D.
Previous studies have identified biologic and work variables as risk factors for CTS, but potential psychosocial variables have received less attention, Mr. Goodson said. And those studies that do exist “have frequently used nonspecific measures of psychosocial functioning, such as general distress, rather than specific measures, such as anxiety, depression, and somatization, he said, noting that the specific measures have more relevance when it comes to designing interventions.
By assessing patients psychosocial functioning when evaluating CTS, clinicians can refer patients who are struggling emotionally for appropriate mental health care to enhance coping resources and improve their ability to understand and manage the associated pain and disability. Cognitive-behavioral therapy and stress management are among the techniques that have shown promise for mitigating the emotional pain of the condition, Mr. Goodson said.