Distress Related to Individual Depressive Symptoms: A Cross-sectional Study in Thai Patients with Major Depression

To examine the distress related to individual depressive symptoms, the correlation between symptom distress and disability, and the gender difference in distress levels in patients with major depressive disorder.

This was a cross-sectional, observational study carried out at a university hospital providing tertiary care in northern Thailand. Participants were patients with major depressive disorder aged between 18 and 65 years. Depression severity was self-rated using the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). We expanded the 9 symptom items of the PHQ-9 into 13 individual symptoms. The participants rated their distress for each symptom on a scale of 0 to 4, from 0 indicating 'not at all' to 4 indicating 'extremely'.

A total of 130 (92 female and 38 male) patients with major depressive disorder participated in this study. Of the 13 symptoms, the distress level of overeating was lowest. Compared with overeating, the distress levels of feeling depressed / hopeless, feeling guilty, poor concentration, anhedonia, initial insomnia, middle / terminal insomnia, and fatigue were significantly higher and had a large effect size of differences (p < 0.001, Cohen's d_z ≥ 0.8). The distress levels related to feeling depressed / hopeless, feeling guilty, poor concentration, anhedonia, fatigue, suicidal ideation, and moving / speaking slowly were moderately and significantly correlated with overall functional impairment (Pearson's r = 0.31-0.48, p < 0.001). Analysis of covariance, adjusted by the PHQ-9 total score, indicated no significant difference between men and women on any symptom.

Depressive symptoms related to high distress levels and moderately correlated with functional impairment were feeling depressed / hopeless, feeling guilty, poor concentration, and anhedonia.