Comparisons of Depressive Symptoms of the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale between Elderly and Non-Elderly Outpatients with Major Depressive Disorder / 신경정신의학

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: Previous studies have reported that symptoms of patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) are different according to age groups, and the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) is the most widely used measure to evaluate the symptoms of MDD. However, few previous studies have compared the symptoms of HDRS between the elderly and non-elderly groups. METHODS: The study population consisted of 574 subjects with MDD who were > or =18 years old, evaluated using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview and 17 items of HDRS. Differences between two groups were analyzed using independent t-test. A multivariate logistic regression model was used to evaluate associations between age and 17 items from HDRS after controlling for gender, years of education, marital status, and employment status. RESULTS: Among 574 patients with MDD, there were 80 elderly patients (age> or =65) and 494 non-elderly patients (age between 18 and 64). Elderly patients had higher scores on item 5 (middle insomnia) (t=-2.271, p=0.024) and item 6 (late insomnia) (t=-2.280, p=0.023), whereas they had lower scores on item 1 (depressed mood) (t=2.860, p=0.004), item 3 (suicide) (t=2.258, p=0.024), and item 9 (agitation) (t=2.031, p=0.043), although no significant difference in the total HDRS scores was observed between elderly and non-elderly. Multivariate logistic regression showed significant association of elderly with hypochondriasis [adjusted odds ratio (AOR)=1.894, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.01-3.56] and agitation (AOR=0.50, 95% CI 0.29-0.87). CONCLUSION: Elderly MDD patients showed more insomnia and hypochondriasis and less depressed mood, suicidal ideation, and agitation than non-elderly.