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Is Joint Hypermobility Related to Anxiety in a Nonclinical Population Also?

Received July 10, 2003; revision received Jan. 13, 2004; accepted Jan. 30, 2004. From the Department of Psychiatry, Hospital del Mar, Barcelona; the Department of Epidemiology, Institut Municipal Investigació Mèdica, Barcelona; and the Centre de Salut Sant Pere de Riudebitlles, Barcelona. Address reprint requests to Dr. Bulbena, Institut Atenció Psiquiatrica, Universitat Autonoma Barcelona, Hospital del Mar, Paseo Marítimo 25–29, E-08003 Barcelona, Spain; abulbena{at}acmcb.es (e-mail).

This study examines the association between joint hypermobility syndrome and anxiety in a nonclinical sample. Subjects (N=526) receiving a medical check-up were assessed with the Hospital del Mar hypermobility criteria and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Scores for trait anxiety, and to a lesser extent state anxiety, were significantly higher among subjects with joint hypermobility syndrome than among subjects without this syndrome (median trait anxiety scores for women: 17 versus 11; median scores for men: 13 versus 1). These findings indicate that the association of joint hypermobility syndrome and anxiety holds even for subjects with no psychiatric diagnosis. Therefore, it seems that this benign connective tissue disorder is a predisposing factor for trait anxiety. However, it is necessary to further explore and define the biological basis of this syndrome, as well as its associations and clinical expressions, which interact with great complexity.

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