Depression and disease progression in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: A comprehensive meta-regression analysis.
Depression in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a fatal and progressive neurodegenerative disorder, is a serious issue with important clinical consequences. However, physical impairment may confound the diagnosis when using generic questionnaires. We conducted a comprehensive review of literature. Mean scores from depression questionnaires were meta-regressed on study-level mean time since onset of symptoms. Data from 103 studies (3190 subjects) indicate that the Beck Depression Inventory and, to a lesser degree, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale are influenced by the time since symptom onset, strongly related to physical impairment. Our results suggest that widely used depression scales overestimate depression due to confounding with physical symptoms.
Department of Psychology, Catholic University of Milan, Italy Azienda Ospedaliera Niguarda Ca' Granda, Italy francesco.pagnini@unicatt.it.
Francesco
F
Pagnini
Department of Psychology, Catholic University of Milan, Italy San Giuseppe Hospital, Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Italy.
Gian Mauro
GM
Manzoni
Department of Psychology, Catholic University of Milan, Italy.
Aurora
A
Tagliaferri
NIHR Collaboration for Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC-GM), University of Manchester, Manchester, UK Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre (MAHSC), University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
Chris J
CJ
Gibbons
D000690:Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D018450:Disease Progression; D006801:Humans
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; assessment; depression; neurology