Ibuprofen may ease arthritis patients’ depression

By Kathryn Doyle NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – For people with a painful cartilage condition, common pain relievers may have small benefits for depression symptoms as well, a new study hints. Depression is more than twice as common among people with osteoarthritis, which happens when cartilage wears down around the hands, lower back, knees or other joints. As many as 27 million Americans have osteoarthritis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. To help manage their pain, those patients often take nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs, like ibuprofen or naproxen. …