Journal of Depression and Anxiety
Open Access

Abstract

Social Anxiety Disorder and Joint Hypermobility: Lack of Association in a Sample of Brazilian University Students

Sanches SB, Crippa JAS, Osório FL, Moraes DA, Louzada-Junior P and Martín-Santos R

Anxiety is associated with a number of other medical conditions, among which is joint hypermobility. This association is more consistent in panic disorder, and further evidence is necessary in regard to other anxiety disorders. This study investigated the association between Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) and joint hypermobility in a sample of Brazilian university students. Data were collected from a convenience sample of 87 participants, divided into SAD cases (n=39) and non-cases (n=48). Participants were selected according to their social anxiety score in the brief version of the Social Phobia Inventory (Mini-SPIN) and SAD diagnosis was confirmed with Module F of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID-IV). The volunteers completed a screening questionnaire for joint hypermobility (the five-part questionnaire for identifying hypermobility) and underwent an individual physical examination based on the Beighton score. The prevalence of joint hypermobility as assessed using a Beighton score > 4 was of 41% in SAD cases and 37.5% in non-cases. No significant differences were observed between the two groups (χ2=0.112 p=0.73). The group of SAD cases had slightly higher Beighton scores, although the difference from non-cases did not reach statistical significance. Our findings do not point to the existence of an association between SAD and joint hypermobility in this sample of Brazilian university students. This result adds to the discussion on the specificities of different anxiety disorders and ethnic features that might mediate the association between anxiety and joint hypermobility.