Prevalence of Depression and Anxiety in Patients with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Rafsanjan, Iran 2014

Background and Night time pain and paresthesia are the most common symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). Neuropathic pain and insomnia (due to night pain) accompanied by depression influence the quality of life, and response to treatment. So, this study aimed at evaluating concurrency of these disorders.
A descriptive cross-sectional study was done in 75 patients with CTS, referring for electrodiagnosis in Rafsanjan Ali-Ibn-Abitaleb Hospital, Iran. Demographic information was obtained and Beck Anxiety and Depression Inventories were administered. The findings were analyzed in SPSS V21. P values According to the findings, 11 (13.9%) patients with CTS had moderate depression while 17(21.5%) suffered from severe depression. Twenty six (32.9%) patients had moderate anxiety and 17 (21.5%) had severe anxiety. There was no significant association between the levels of depression and anxiety and disease severity. The levels of both depression and anxiety were significantly lower in patients who were employed and those with higher education.
The prevalence of depression and anxiety in patients with CTS was higher than general population.