title: Predictors of response in the treatment of moderate depression.
abstract: To identify neurocognitive and sociodemographic variables that could be associated with clinical response to three modalities of treatment for depression, as well as variables that predicted superior response to one treatment over the others.
  The present study derives from a research project in which depressed patients (n=272) received one of three treatments - long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy (n=90), fluoxetine therapy (n=91), or a combination thereof (n=91) - over a 24-month period.
  Sociodemographic variables were not found to be predictive. Six predictive neurocognitive variables were identified: three prognostic variables related to working memory and abstract reasoning; one prescriptive variable related to working memory; and two variables found to be moderators.
  The results of this study indicate subgroups of patients who might benefit from specific therapeutic strategies and subgroups that seem to respond well to long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy and combined therapy. The moderators found suggest that abstract reasoning and processing speed may influence the magnitude and/or direction of clinical improvement.
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Psicologia, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Andre G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Bastos
authors.affiliation: Unidade de Epidemiologia e Bioestatística, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Luciano S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Guimarães
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Psicologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Clarissa M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Trentini
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D018687:Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy / Q000379:methods; D003863:Depression / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D005473:Fluoxetine / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011379:Prognosis; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D018687:Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation; D005473:Fluoxetine