Depression as a Comorbidity in Behcet's Syndrome

Behcet's syndrome (BD) is a controversial, chronic, and episodic condition that is autoimmune in origin and causes systemic vasculitis in the arteries and genital veins. BD is consistently associated with depression, with an incidence of 86% upon the first appearance of symptoms and disorders of the disease. However, few studies have looked at depression and other psychiatric disorders, such as anxiety, in the context of comorbidity with BD. The aim of this review is to identify articles that focus on the relation between BD and depression as a comorbidity. The studies found revealed a consistently high incidence of depression in the BD population, even when compared with other chronic pathologies including Rheumatoid Arthritis and Psoriasis, although there was a limitation in the use of scales and other tools for assessment and control of comorbid symptoms, moreover there are no studies linking the drugs used in the BD treatment of each patient and the symptoms present in each case. This review clearly shows the lack of research in which depression scores are analyzed in relation to the medications used by individual patients. Additionally, the use of additional scales is necessary to increase the knowledge about the nature and consequences of depression as comorbidity of BD.