Clin Psychopharmacol Neurosci.  2015 Apr;13(1):48-52. 10.9758/cpn.2015.13.1.48.

Dimensions of Delusions in Major Depression: Socio-demographic and Clinical Correlates in an Unipolar-Bipolar Sample

• Zaninotto
• Souery D
• Calati R
• Camardese
• Janiri L
• Montgomery S
• Kasper S
• Zohar J
• De Ronchi
• Mendlewicz J
• Serretti A

• KMID: 2171064
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.9758/cpn.2015.13.1.48

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
The present study aims at exploring associations between a continuous measure of distorted thought contents and a set of demographic and clinical features in a sample of unipolar/bipolar depressed patients.
METHODS
Our sample included 1,833 depressed subjects. Severity of mood symptoms was assessed by the 21 items Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D). The continuous outcome measure was represented by a delusion (DEL) factor, extracted from HAM-D items and including items: 2 ("Feelings of guilt"), 15 ("Hypochondriasis"), and 20 ("Paranoid symptoms"). Each socio-demographic and clinical variable was tested by a generalized linear model test, having depressive severity (HAM-D score-DEL score) as the covariate.
RESULTS
A family history of major depressive disorder (MDD; p=0.0006), a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, type I ( p=0.0003), a comorbid general anxiety disorder (p<0.0001), and a higher number of manic episodes during lifetime (p<0.0001), were all associated to higher DEL scores. Conversely, an older age at onset (p<0.0001) and a longer duration of hospitalization for depression over lifetime (p=0.0003) had a negative impact over DEL scores. On secondary analyses, only the presence of psychotic features (p<0.0001) and depressive severity (p<0.0001) were found to be independently associated to higher DEL scores.
CONCLUSION
The retrospective design and a non validated continuous measure for distorted thought contents were the main limitations of our study. Excluding the presence of psychotic features and depressive severity, no socio-demographic or clinical variable was found to be associated to our continuous measure of distorted thinking in depression.

Keyword

Delusions; Psychotic disorders; Depression; Dimensional model

MeSH Terms

Anxiety Disorders
Bipolar Disorder
Delusions*
Depression*
Depressive Disorder, Major
Diagnosis
Hospitalization
Humans
Linear Models
Outcome Assessment (Health Care)
Psychotic Disorders
Retrospective Studies
Thinking