Mapping the Presence of Anxiety Symptoms in Adults With Major Depressive Disorder

Background: Patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) often present with co-occurring anxiety symptoms. The network method provides a novel view on understanding the co-occurrence of depressive and anxiety symptoms. Thus, the purpose of our study was to explore it by applying network analysis methods.Methods: We used electronic medical records from West China Hospital in China. In total, 3,424 patients who met the criteria for MDD were included. R-studio 3.6 was used to estimate the network structure. First, we estimated the network structure of depression and anxiety symptoms using the graphic LASSO algorithm. Then, we estimated the centrality indices of nodes to determine which symptoms are more central in the network. We then estimated the bridge centrality indices using the bridge function via the R package networktools.Results: Some strong connections were found like “easy to wake up,” “wake up early,” and “difficulty falling asleep,” “suicidal thoughts,” and “hopelessness.” “Depressed mood,” “somatic anxiety,” “hopelessness,” “anxiety mood,” and “tension” have the higher centrality indices. Results revealed eight bridge symptoms (e.g., concentration/memory difficulty, gastrointestinal symptoms) in the co-occurrence network structure.Conclusions: This research suggests that the described approach in mapping the presence of anxiety symptoms in individuals with major depression might potentially increase diagnostic precision and help choose more targeted interventions and potentially reduce the occurrence of treatment resistance.

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Efficacy of vortioxetine on the physical symptoms of major depressive disorder

Journal of Psychopharmacology ◽

10.1177/0269881118788826 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 32 (10) ◽

pp. 1086-1097 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Michael Cronquist Christensen ◽

Ioana Florea ◽

Annika Lindsten ◽

David S Baldwin

Keyword(s):

Major Depressive Disorder ◽

Depressive Disorder ◽

Gastrointestinal Symptoms ◽

Physical Symptoms ◽

Anxiety Symptoms ◽

Hamilton Depression Scale ◽

Short Term ◽

Major Depressive ◽

Symptoms Of Depression ◽

Long Term Treatment

Background: Efficacy has been proven for vortioxetine in short-term and long-term treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD), with broad beneficial effects on emotional, physical and cognitive symptoms. Limited specific data on the effects of vortioxetine on depression-related physical symptoms have been published. Methods: A meta-analysis was carried out of five short-term multinational, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies. These studies were conducted in a total of 2105 adult MDD outpatients (18–75 years) with a major depressive episode of ⩾3 months’ duration. Only patients treated with a dose of 5 or 10 mg vortioxetine (therapeutic doses) or placebo were included in this analysis. Efficacy assessment of vortioxetine on the physical symptoms of depression included all items of the Hamilton Depression Scale (HAM-D) assessing physical symptoms, and all somatic items in the Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAM-A). A subgroup analysis in MDD patients with coexisting anxiety symptoms (i.e. those with a HAM-A ⩾20 at baseline) was also performed. Results: A significant improvement ( p<0.05) of vortioxetine versus placebo was observed on all HAM-D items measuring physical symptoms, except for the somatic gastrointestinal symptoms and loss of weight items. Significant effects were also observed on the HAM-A somatic items: general somatic symptoms, gastrointestinal symptoms, and autonomic symptoms. In patients with a high baseline level of anxiety, a significant effect of vortioxetine was also observed on the physical symptoms of depression. Conclusions: These analyses indicate that patients with MDD, including those with a high level of anxiety symptoms, have significant improvements in MDD-associated physical symptoms when treated with vortioxetine.

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