Differentiating Depressive Symptoms From Side Effects in Individuals With Major Depressive Disorder With Postpartum...

Somatic symptoms are commonly seen in major depressive disorder (MDD) with postpartum onset and can be similar to side effects of antidepressant medications. The aim of this study is to determine whether the decline in depressive symptoms measured by the Structured Interview Guide for the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale with Atypical Depression Supplement (SIGH-ADS) is significantly associated with the decrease in somatic symptoms identified by the Asberg scale.

A secondary analysis of data from a randomized controlled trial was conducted. The original 8-week trial included 62 participants and assessed the efficacy of sertraline versus estradiol transdermal patches and their respective placebos for MDD with postpartum onset. The SIGH-ADS scale was used to assess depression severity and the Asberg scale was used to evaluate treatment emergent side effects, defined as an increase of ≥2 from baseline measures. Correlation analyses were performed between total scale scores. The scales were compared to establish symptoms, which overlapped across scales versus symptoms, which were unique to each scale.

Positive correlations were observed between the SIGH-ADS and Asberg scales and across the 8-week trial in all 3 treatment groups (correlation coefficient range 0.468-0.712). Headache was the most frequent treatment emergent side effect (10 occurrences). Fourteen symptoms were found to overlap between the 2 scales.

These findings underscore the importance of reviewing somatic symptoms before administering medication to discern true treatment emergent side effects, especially in populations recovering from labor and delivery. Somatic symptoms decline in parallel with depressive symptom scores during treatment, suggesting they are indicative of underlying illness rather than side effects.