Emotional State Directly Relates to Pain Levels in RA Patients Emotional State Directly Relates to Pain Levels in RA Patients It is a well-known fact a person’s emotional state can directly impact their health. The same is also true in the reverse as the physical state can play havoc on mental health. In the case of patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), depression is extremely likely. Science Daily recently published a release showing severe chronic pain accompanied by progressive destruction, disability and disfigurement is known to increase the risk of experiencing emotional disturbances. For RA patients, they are doubly at risk. The interrelationship between levels of depression symptoms, C-reactive protein (CRP) level and pain were studied by researchers at Nagoya City University and Nagoya University Graduate Schools of Medicine in Japan.