Objective: Poor mental health is prevalent among United States (US) adults with arthritis. There is a knowledge gap about characteristics associated with mental health among US adults with arthritis. This study assessed the association between relevant characteristics from the literature and mental health status among US adults with arthritis.

Methods: This retrospective cross sectional study used 2019 Medical Expenditures Panel Survey (MEPS) data. Eligible individuals were adults aged >17 years with an arthritis diagnosis. Hierarchical logistic regression models were employed to model the associations between multiple relevant variables and good mental health status. Model 1 included predisposing factors, model 2 included predisposing and enabling factors, while model 3 included predisposing, enabling and need factors. An a priori alpha level was 0.05. analyses accounted for the complex survey design and were weighted to produce national estimates.

Results: Among 28,512 individuals, 4,984 met the inclusion criteria. Of these, 4,181 had good mental health (85.5%, 95% confidence interval [CI]=84.3%, 86.7%). The following characteristics were associated with good mental health status in the final adjusted model: age 18-64 vs. ≥65 (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]=0.29, 95% CI=0.12, 0.71), Midwest vs. West census region (AOR=5.17, 95% CI=1.63, 16.46), no degree vs. higher than high school education (AOR=0.34, 95% CI=0.12, 0.92), high school diploma vs. higher than high school education (AOR=0.40, 95% CI=0.18, 0.86).

Conclusion: The findings from this study revealed an association between several characteristics and good mental health among US adults with arthritis. Such characteristics may be targeted to initiate interventions to improve mental health among this population.