{"id":65,"date":"2024-07-09T15:01:50","date_gmt":"2024-07-09T13:01:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brainhelpdesk.nl\/?post_type=vraag&#038;p=65"},"modified":"2025-09-23T21:33:05","modified_gmt":"2025-09-23T19:33:05","slug":"is-er-een-verband-tussen-reuma-en-angst-depressie","status":"publish","type":"vraag","link":"https:\/\/brainhelpdesk.nl\/en\/vraag\/is-er-een-verband-tussen-reuma-en-angst-depressie\/","title":{"rendered":"Is there a link between rheumatoid arthritis and anxiety?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Autoimmune disease<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Rheumatism, also called rheumatoid arthritis, is an autoimmune disease. This means that your immune system turns against your own body. This causes inflammation in your joints that can be very painful. You can imagine that such pain can be a burden on your mental health, and can cause feelings of fear, anxiety and depression. However, there is also a direct effect of inflammatory substances on the brain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Inflammation is an important process in your body that protects you from the harmful effects of pathogens. For instance, when bacteria enter a wound, your immune system releases inflammatory substances called cytokines into the bloodstream to fight off the bacteria. However, in the case of rheumatoid arthritis, this process can turn against your own cells, specifically the cells in your joints, which are then \u2018attacked\u2019 by your immune system. Rheumatoid arthritis is therefore called an auto-immune disease.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Effects on the brain<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>As if this isn\u2019t unpleasant enough, the cytokines that are released during inflammation can also influence your brain. Research has shown that cytokines can influence brain structures that regulate to mood and anxiety. This makes these brain regions more responsive to stress, which may cause increased feelings of anxiety and depression. The reverse may also be true: having a depression (especially if it lasts for 3-5 years or more) seems to increase the chance of developing rheumatoid arthritis. How this works exactly is currently being investigated.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Treatment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>So, can anything be done about this link between rheumatism and depression? Luckily, there seems to be new medication available. One particular type of cytokine is called TNF-\u0251 (pronounced as TNF-alpha). Recent research has shown that medication that binds to these TNF-\u0251 molecules (called anti-TNF-\u0251) can neutralize these cytokines, preventing them from playing a role in the inflammation response, and from reaching the brain. Anti-TNF-\u0251 can also increase levels of neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin, which have a positive effect on your mood. Such medication may therefore have both a beneficial effect on rheumatoid arthritis, and reduce anxiety and mood disorders. Anti-TNF-\u0251 medication is already used to treat rheumatism, and clinical trials have shown that it can also treat severe depression and other mood disorders.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"466\" height=\"642\" src=\"https:\/\/brainhelpdesk.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/image-21.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-608\" srcset=\"https:\/\/brainhelpdesk.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/image-21.png 466w, https:\/\/brainhelpdesk.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/image-21-218x300.png 218w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 466px) 100vw, 466px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Read more?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arthritis.org\/diseases\/rheumatoid-arthritis\">Rheumatoid Arthritis: Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Treatment | Arthritis Foundation<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arthritis.org\/health-wellness\/healthy-living\/emotional-well-being\/anxiety-depression\/arthritis-and-mental-health\">Arthritis and Mental Health | Arthritis Foundation<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Autoimmune disease Rheumatism, also called rheumatoid arthritis, is an autoimmune disease. This means that your immune system turns against your own body. This causes inflammation in your joints that can be very painful. You can imagine that such pain can &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/brainhelpdesk.nl\/en\/vraag\/is-er-een-verband-tussen-reuma-en-angst-depressie\/\"><em>Lees verder<span class=\"meta-nav\">&#8230;<\/span><\/em><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[50,57],"class_list":["post-65","vraag","type-vraag","status-publish","hentry","category-anxiety-disorders","category-pain"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brainhelpdesk.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vraag\/65","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brainhelpdesk.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vraag"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brainhelpdesk.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/vraag"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brainhelpdesk.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/brainhelpdesk.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vraag\/65\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1547,"href":"https:\/\/brainhelpdesk.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vraag\/65\/revisions\/1547"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brainhelpdesk.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brainhelpdesk.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}