Characterizing the phenotype of multiple sclerosis-associated depression in comparison with idiopathic major depression

TY - JOUR

T1 - Characterizing the phenotype of multiple sclerosis-associated depression in comparison with idiopathic major depression

AU - Hasselmann, Helge

AU - Bellmann-Strobl, Judith

AU - Ricken, Roland

AU - Oberwahrenbrock, Timm

AU - Rose, Matthias

AU - Otte, Christian

AU - Adli, Mazda

AU - Paul, Friedemann

AU - Brandt, Alexander U

AU - Finke, Carsten

AU - Gold, Stefan M

N1 - © The Author(s), 2016.

PY - 2016/10

Y1 - 2016/10

N2 - BACKGROUND: Depression is a common co-morbidity in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). While somatic symptoms of MS correlate with depression levels, it is unclear whether the clinical presentation of MS-associated depression differs from patients with "idiopathic" major depressive disorder (MDD).OBJECTIVE: To compare the clinical phenotype of depression among MS and idiopathic MDD patients.METHODS: Mean relative contribution of individual Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) items was evaluated among n = 139 patients with relapsing-remitting MS and n = 85 MDD patients without somatic illness. Next, comparisons were repeated in n = 38 MS with clinically relevant depressive symptoms (BDI-II > 19) and n = 38 MDD patients matched for sex, age, and depression severity. Finally, the underlying construct of depression was compared across groups using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA).RESULTS: Comparisons on a whole-group level produced the expected differences along somatic/non-somatic symptoms. However, when appropriately controlling for depression severity, age, and sex, only four items contributed differentially to BDI-II total scores in MS versus MDD. CFA suggested that the underlying depression construct is essentially identical in both groups.CONCLUSION: The clinical phenotype of "idiopathic" MDD and MS-associated depression appears similar when adequately examined. The relevance of these findings for psychotherapeutic approaches for MS-associated depression should be explored in future studies.

AB - BACKGROUND: Depression is a common co-morbidity in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). While somatic symptoms of MS correlate with depression levels, it is unclear whether the clinical presentation of MS-associated depression differs from patients with "idiopathic" major depressive disorder (MDD).OBJECTIVE: To compare the clinical phenotype of depression among MS and idiopathic MDD patients.METHODS: Mean relative contribution of individual Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) items was evaluated among n = 139 patients with relapsing-remitting MS and n = 85 MDD patients without somatic illness. Next, comparisons were repeated in n = 38 MS with clinically relevant depressive symptoms (BDI-II > 19) and n = 38 MDD patients matched for sex, age, and depression severity. Finally, the underlying construct of depression was compared across groups using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA).RESULTS: Comparisons on a whole-group level produced the expected differences along somatic/non-somatic symptoms. However, when appropriately controlling for depression severity, age, and sex, only four items contributed differentially to BDI-II total scores in MS versus MDD. CFA suggested that the underlying depression construct is essentially identical in both groups.CONCLUSION: The clinical phenotype of "idiopathic" MDD and MS-associated depression appears similar when adequately examined. The relevance of these findings for psychotherapeutic approaches for MS-associated depression should be explored in future studies.

U2 - 10.1177/1352458515622826

DO - 10.1177/1352458515622826

M3 - SCORING: Journal article

C2 - 26746809

VL - 22

SP - 1476

EP - 1484

JO - MULT SCLER J

JF - MULT SCLER J

SN - 1352-4585

IS - 11

ER -