Predictors of treatment response in patients with depressive disorder

Depression is a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest, negatively affects how an individual is, and can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems. The primary treatment modality used in depression is a combination of pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy. Predictors of response to treatment in depressed patients are found to be a significant issue in their recovery, mainly the sociodemographic, clinical, and psychological variables.

This study aims to find out the role of psychological variables in the prediction of the treatment outcome of depressed patients.

60 depressed patients (moderate and severe level) having the first episode were selected as per ICD-10 DCR criteria through purposive sampling and inclusion criteria.

Cognitive variables like attention have been found to have a positive role in the treatment recovery of depressed patients. No other cognitive variable, coping strategies, or personality factors have been found to have any predictive role in the treatment response of depression.

More researches need to be conducted to help fully elucidate the relationship between cognitive variables, coping strategies, and personality factors and their predictive role in treatment outcomes of depression.