Comparison of Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and Zung Self-Rating Anxiety/Depression Scale (SAS/SDS) in Evaluating Anxiety and Depression in Patients with Psoriatic Arthritis

<b><i>Background:</i></b> This study aimed to compare the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the Zung Self-Rating Anxiety/Depression Scale (SAS/SDS) in evaluating anxiety and depression in psoriatic arthritis (PsA) patients. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> A total of 70 PsA patients were enrolled. Demographic and clinical characteristics were collected after enrollment. HADS-A and SAS were used to evaluate the anxiety of PsA patients, while HADS-D and SDS were used to evaluate the depression of PsA patients. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Similar results were observed in detecting the rate of anxiety by HADS-A and SAS (27.1 vs. 21.4%, <i>p</i> = 0.424), and there was no difference in classifying the severity of anxiety by HADS-A and SAS (<i>p</i> = 0.347). The Spearman test also disclosed that HADS-A score was positively associated with SAS score (<i>p &#x3c;</i>0.001). The rates of depression were similar by HADS-D and SDS (27.1 vs. 40.0%; <i>p</i> = 0.108). However, different results were observed in grading the severity of anxiety by HADS-D and SDS (<i>p</i> = 0.009), and no correlation was observed between HADS-D and SDS scores (<i>p</i> = 0.138). The consumption of time for HADS assessment was shorter than that for SAS/SDS assessment (<i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.001). In addition, a positive correlation of HADS-A score with patients’ global assessment (PGA) (<i>p</i> = 0.022) and fatigue scores (<i>p</i> = 0.028) was discovered, and HADS-D score was positively associated with PGA score (<i>p</i> = 0.019). SAS or SDS score presented less correlation with clinical features of PsA patients, which illuminated that only SAS score was positively associated with duration of psoriasis (<i>p</i> = 0.030). <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> HADS seems to be a better option for anxiety and depression assessment than SAS/SDS in PsA patients.