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Related Experiment Videos

Somatic symptoms in treatment-resistant depression.

George I Papakostas1, Timothy Petersen, John Denninger

  • 1Department of Psychiatry, Depression Clinical and Research Program, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA. gpapakostas@partners.org

Psychiatry Research
|May 22, 2003
PubMed
Summary

Patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD) frequently experience somatic symptoms. Higher somatic symptom scores indicate a poorer response to antidepressant treatment, highlighting a significant challenge in managing TRD.

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Area of Science:

  • Psychiatry
  • Clinical Psychology
  • Neuroscience

Background:

  • Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) affects a significant portion of patients diagnosed with major depressive disorder.
  • Somatic symptoms are common in depression but their specific impact on treatment outcomes in TRD requires further elucidation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the prevalence of somatic symptoms in patients with TRD.
  • To determine the association between somatic symptom severity and response to antidepressant treatment with nortriptyline.

Main Methods:

  • A cohort of 40 patients with TRD was assessed using the Symptom Questionnaire (SQ) somatic symptom (SQ-SS) and somatic well-being (SQ-SWB) sub-scales.
  • A 6-week open trial of nortriptyline was administered.
  • Logistic regression analysis was employed to evaluate the predictive value of SQ-SS and SQ-SWB scores on clinical response.

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Main Results:

  • Ninety-five percent of TRD patients reported at least one somatic symptom.
  • Elevated SQ-SS scores significantly predicted a poorer response to nortriptyline.
  • Patients with SQ-SS scores above the sample mean showed no response to nortriptyline.
  • A trend indicated that lower SQ-SWB scores were associated with poor treatment response.

Conclusions:

  • Somatic symptoms are highly prevalent in patients with TRD.
  • The severity of somatic symptoms, particularly assessed by SQ-SS, is a significant predictor of poor antidepressant treatment response in TRD.
  • Identifying and addressing somatic symptoms may be crucial for improving treatment outcomes in TRD.