Depression in Behçet’s disease patients: Relationship with disease pattern, activity and quality of life

Aim of the work: To determine the frequency of depression in Behçet’s disease (BD) patients and to clarify its burden on patients’ clinical manifestations, disease activity status and quality of life (QoL). Patients and methods: 35 BD patients with 35 matched control were included in this study. Disease activity was assessed by Behçet Syndrome Activity Score (BSAS). All participants were requested to complete the Hamilton depression rating scale (HDRS), Multidimensional assessment of fatigue (MAF) questionnaire and the short form-36 (SF-36) QoL Scale. Results: The mean age of the patients was 40.3 ± 13.5 years (17–72 years) and they were 27 males and 8 females. The frequency of depression in BD patients was 74.3% with increased male frequency (p = 0.007) and major organ involvement (p = 0.04) among depressed patients. Significant differences (p