[Depression and pain in arthrosis of spine and hip in elderly patients].

UNLABELLED: Various pain complaints are the most frequent symptoms in depression. However neither ICD-10 nor DSM-IV do not treat the pain as an essential and vital indicator of depression. There is also lack of works which describe shown above relation.

AIM: The aim of our research determines the connection between the intensity of depression symptoms and pain perception in elderly patients who are treated for pain in arthrosis of spine and arthrosis of hip.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: The research was conducted in a group of 60 patients. The whole group was divided into two subgroups: group A (30 people with arthrosis of spine: 22 women and 8 men) and group B (30 people with arthrosis of hip: 23 women and 7 men). All of them were undergone 10 physiotherapy surgeries (magnetic field and therapy laser). The appraisal of the influence of the treatment on the intensity of depression symptoms was made on the basis of Depression Scale Montgomery-Asberg (MADRAS) and the appraisal of the intensity of pain was made on the basis of Visual Analogy Scale of Pain.

RESULTS: The important impact of conducted surgeries on the intensity of pain complaint as well as the escalation of depression indicators were stated. Not only in the first but also in the second case presented patients' diseases were alleviated (the intensity of depression symptoms and of perceptible suffering decreased). Nevertheless, this relation was observed only when moderate and mild escalation of depression appeared.

CONCLUSIONS: The decrease on the intensity of pain experience reduce depression symptoms in these cases in which the escalation of the second ones is not substantial.