Does the clinical course of depression determine improvement in symptoms and quality of life?
Clinical course factors characterizing individuals' history with depression may be helpful in predicting treatment-related change in quality of life (QOL). Such factors have been studied in relation to symptomatic change with mixed results. This 9-week single-blind treatment trial using reboxetine (1 week placebo lead-in) evaluated the impact of age of onset, history of antidepressant treatment, duration of index episode, number of past episodes, and the presence of precipitating stress on depressed individuals' treatment response. We found that QOL did not normalize along with clinical remission in all areas. Using multivariate analysis, we found that age of onset, history with antidepressants, and the presence of identifiable precipitating stress were all significant predictors of QOL change (controlling for symptomatic change); some factors also predicted symptomatic improvement. Our results support the trend of distinguishing between treatment-related change in QOL and symptomatic change and suggest clinical course factors as promising predictors of QOL.
Moses
Tally
T
School of Social Work, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA.
Leuchter
Andrew F
AF
Cook
Ian
I
Abrams
Michelle
M
D000328:Adult; D017668:Age of Onset; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D009025:Morpholines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011336:Probability; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D000077593:Reboxetine; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D000928:Antidepressive Agents; D009025:Morpholines; D000077593:Reboxetine