Association between joint hypermobility and anxiety in Brazilian university students: Gender-related differences

Author(s)

Sanches, S. B. ^{[1, 2, 3]} ; Osorio, F. L. ^[1] ; Louzada-Junior, P. ^[4] ; Moraes, D. ^[4] ; Crippa, J. A. S. ^[1] ; Martin-Santos, R. ^{[2, 3]}

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Neurosci & Behav Dept, Fac Med Ribeirao Preto, BR-05508 Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[2] Univ Barcelona, Dept Psychiat, Hosp Clin, Inst Invest Biomed August Pi & Sunyer, IDIBAPS, Barcelona, Catalonia - Spain

^[3] Univ Barcelona, Dept Psychol, Hosp Clin, Inst Invest Biomed August Pi & Sunyer, IDIBAPS, Barcelona, Catalonia - Spain

^[4] Univ Sao Paulo, Div Clin Immunol, Fac Med Ribeirao Preto, Ctr Res Inflammatory Dis, BR-05508 Sao Paulo - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: JOURNAL OF PSYCHOSOMATIC RESEARCH; v. 77, n. 6, p. 558-561, DEC 2014.
• Web of Science Citations: 5

Abstract

Introduction: Anxiety disorders may be associated with several non-psychiatric disorders. Current literature has been investigating the association between anxiety and joint hypermobility OHM), with special interest in non-articular symptoms that may be related to autonomic dysfunction. This study investigated the association between anxiety and JHM in a sample of Brazilian university students. Methods: Data were cross-sectionally collected in two Brazilian universities (N = 2600). Participants completed three validated self-rating anxiety scales: Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN) and the brief-version of SPIN (Mini-SPIN). They also answered the self-rating screening questionnaire for JHM: the Five-part Questionnaire for Identifying Hypermobility. Results: Hypermobile women showed significantly higher scores in all the anxiety scales, when compared with men: BAI total score (t = 3.77; p < 0.001), its four subscales, SPIN score (t = 2.71; p < 0.007) and MiniSPIN (t = 2.58; p < 0.01). Among BAI subscales, the autonomic subscale was shown to be more significantly (t = 3.89; p < 0.001) associated with joint hypermobility in women. Conclusions: The results of the present study support earlier evidence on the relationship between anxiety and JHM in women, showing specific gender-related features in this field. It also directs attention to non-articular symptoms that may be enrolled in this association. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 07/03685-3 - Typical and atypical neurotransmitters in neuropsychiatric disorders
• Grantee: Francisco Silveira Guimaraes
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants