Depression and depression treatment in women with spinal cord injury

Research has documented high rates of depression in people with spinal cord injury (SCI); however, most SCI research is conducted with predominantly male study participants. Additional research is needed on depression and depression treatment among women with SCI.

Study objectives were to examine depression, correlates of depression, and depression treatment in a sample of women with SCI.

The sample included 51 ethnically and racially diverse women with SCI who participated in a larger study on secondary conditions of women with diverse physical disabilities. Recruited through health clinics and community organizations in a large metropolitan area, participants completed structured interviews that included demographic and disability characteristics and measures of health and health care utilization.

Scores on the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) indicated that 41% of the women had depressive symptomatology in the mild to severe range. BDI-II scores were significantly related to more severe secondary conditions, greater pain, and poorer health perceptions but not to demographic or disability variables. Nearly a third (n = 16) of the women had scores exceeding the standard cutoff for significant clinical depressive symptomatology, yet only 5 of those had received any treatment for depression in the past 3 months and only 1 had received counseling or psychotherapy. Lifelong depression treatment showed a similar pattern of predominantly pharmacologic treatment.

Depression is a common problem for women with SCI, and many do not receive treatment, particularly psychological treatment. Disability-sensitive and affordable depression treatment must be made available to women with SCI.