title: Anxiety and physical health problems increase the odds of women having more severe symptoms of depression.
abstract: Severely depressed women incur substantial disability and suicide risk, necessitating an understanding of factors that may contribute to severe depression. The purpose of this research was to determine the degree to which age, physical morbidity, anxiety, and hormonal status predict the likelihood of severe depression among women with mood disorders (n = 298). Data arose from a standardized battery of measures in a multi-center clinical registry of patients with mood disorders. The women were being treated at 17 participating sites of the National Network of Depression Centers. Results of logistic regression analyses indicate that a woman's level of anxiety was the strongest predictor of her likelihood of having severe depression (Exp(B) = 1.33, p = .000), including thoughts of death or suicide. The number of physical health problems that a woman reported was also a significant predictor (Exp(B) = 1.09, p = .04). Neither age nor hormonal status was significant in the final model, although a trend was observed for women with surgically induced menopause to have more severe depression. Findings support the need to work closely with medical practitioners to address physical health problems as part of the treatment plan for depression and to give comorbid anxiety and depression equal priority in symptom management.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Health Systems, University of California, San Francisco, 9 Koret Way, Box 0608, San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA. sandra.weiss@ucsf.edu.
authors.forename: Sandra J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Weiss
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University, 12 Executive Park Drive, NE, Atlanta, GA, 30329, USA.
authors.forename: Diana I
authors.initials: DI
authors.lastname: Simeonova
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 101 Manning Drive, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, USA.
authors.forename: Mary C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Kimmel
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown University and Butler Hospital Psychosocial Research Program, 345 Blackstone Blvd, Providence, RI, 02906, USA.
authors.forename: Cynthia L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Battle
authors.affiliation: Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, 912 South Wood Street, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA.
authors.forename: Pauline M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Maki
authors.affiliation: Department of Behavioral Science and Social Medicine, Florida State University, 115 West Call Street, Tallahasse, FL, 32306, USA.
authors.forename: Heather A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Flynn
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001007:Anxiety / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D017698:Postmenopause / Q000523:psychology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011788:Quality of Life; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Anxiety; Depression; Hysterectomy; Physical health; Suicidality