Causes of death in individuals with lifetime major depression: a comprehensive machine learning analysis from a community-based autopsy center.

BACKGROUND: Depression can be associated with increased mortality and morbidity, but no studies have investigated the specific causes of death based on autopsy reports. Autopsy studies can yield valuable and detailed information on pathological ailments or underreported conditions. This study aimed to compare autopsy-confirmed causes of death (CoD) between individuals diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD) and matched controls. We also analyzed subgroups within our MDD sample, including late-life depression and recurrent depression. We further investigated whether machine learning (ML) algorithms could distinguish MDD and each subgroup from controls based on their CoD. METHODS: We conducted a comprehensive analysis of CoD in individuals who died from nontraumatic causes. The diagnosis of lifetime MDD was ascertained based on the DSM-5 criteria using information from a structured interview with a knowledgeable informant. Eleven established ML algorithms were used to differentiate MDD individuals from controls by simultaneously analyzing different disease category groups to account for multiple tests. The McNemar test was further used to compare paired nominal data. RESULTS: The initial dataset included records of 1,102 individuals, among whom 232 (21.1%) had a lifetime diagnosis of MDD. Each MDD individual was strictly paired with a control non-psychiatric counterpart. In the MDD group, the most common CoD were circulatory (67.2%), respiratory (13.4%), digestive (6.0%), and cancer (5.6%). Despite employing a range of ML models, we could not find distinctive CoD patterns that could reliably distinguish individuals with MDD from individuals in the control group (average accuracy: 50.6%; accuracy range: 39-59%). These findings were consistent even when considering factors within the MDD group, such as late-life or recurrent MDD. When comparing groups with paired nominal tests, no differences were found for circulatory (p=0.450), respiratory (p=0.790), digestive (p=1.000), or cancer (p=0.855) CoD. CONCLUSIONS: Our analysis revealed that autopsy-confirmed CoD exhibited remarkable similarity between individuals with depression and their matched controls, underscoring the existing heterogeneity in the literature. Future research should prioritize more severe manifestations of depression and larger sample sizes, particularly in the context of CoD related to cancer.

Understanding symptom profiles of depression with the PHQ-9 in a community sample using network analysis.

BACKGROUND: Depression is one of the most prevalent mental health conditions in the world. However, the heterogeneity of depression has presented obstacles for research concerning disease mechanisms, treatment indication, and personalization. The current study used network analysis to analyze and compare profiles of depressive symptoms present in community samples, considering the relationship between symptoms. METHODS: Cross-sectional measures of depression using the Patient Health Questionnaire - 9 items (PHQ-9) were collected from community samples using data from participants scoring above a clinical threshold of ≥10 points (N = 2,023; 73.9% female; mean age 49.87, SD = 17.40). Data analysis followed three steps. First, a profiling algorithm was implemented to identify all possible symptom profiles by dichotomizing each PHQ-9 item. Second, the most prevalent symptom profiles were identified in the sample. Third, network analysis for the most prevalent symptom profiles was carried out to identify the centrality and covariance of symptoms. RESULTS: Of 382 theoretically possible depression profiles, only 167 were present in the sample. Furthermore, 55.6% of the symptom profiles present in the sample were represented by only eight profiles. Network analysis showed that the network and symptoms' relationship varied across the profiles. CONCLUSIONS: Findings indicate that the vast number of theoretical possible ways to meet the criteria for major depressive disorder (MDD) is significantly reduced in empirical samples and that the most common profiles of symptoms have different networks and connectivity patterns. Scientific and clinical consequences of these findings are discussed in the context of the limitations of this study.

Diagnosis support of major depressive disorder using event-related potentials during affective priming tasks.

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a global problem. Currently, the most common diagnosis is based on criteria susceptible to the subjectivity of the patient and the clinician. A possible solution to this problem is to look for diagnostic biomarkers that can accurately and early detect this mental condition. Some researchers have focused on electroencephalogram (EEG) analysis to identify biomarkers. In this study we used a dataset composed of EEG recordings from 24 subjects with MDD and 29 healthy controls (HC), during the execution of affective priming tasks with three different emotional stimuli (images): fear, sadness, and happiness. We investigated abnormalities in depressed patients using a novel technique, by directly comparing Event-Related Potential (ERP) waveforms to find statistically significant differences between the MMD and HC groups. Compared to the control group (healthy subjects), we found out that for the emotions fear and happiness there is a decrease in cortical activity at temporal regions in MDD patients. Just the opposite, for the emotion sadness, an increase in MDD brain activity occurs in frontal and occipital regions. Our findings suggest that emotions regulate the attentional control of cognitive processing and are promising for clinical application in diagnosing patients with MDD more objectively.

Psychiatric disorders in pregnant women admitted to the high-risk obstetric service in a Colombian university clinic between 2013 and 2017.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the psychiatric diagnoses and treatments of patients admitted to the high-risk obstetric service who underwent a consultation with a liaison psychiatrist. METHODS: A descriptive observational study that included pregnant women from the high-risk obstetric service of a highly specialised clinic in Medellín, who had a liaison psychiatry consultation between 2013 and 2017. The main variables of interest were psychiatric and obstetric diagnoses and treatments, in addition to biopsychosocial risk factors. RESULTS: A total of 361 medical records were screened, with 248 patients meeting the inclusion criteria. The main prevailing psychiatric diagnosis was major depressive disorder (29%), followed by adaptive disorder (21.8%) and anxiety disorders (12.5%). The pharmacologic treatments most used by the psychiatry service were SSRI antidepressants (24.2%), trazodone (6.8%) and benzodiazepines (5.2%). The most common primary obstetric diagnosis was spontaneous delivery (46.4%), and the predominant secondary obstetric diagnoses were hypertensive disorder associated with pregnancy (10.4%), gestational diabetes (9.2%) and recurrent abortions (6.4%). Overall, 71.8% of the patients had a high biopsychosocial risk. CONCLUSIONS: The studied population's primary psychiatric disorders were major depressive disorder, adjustment disorder and anxiety disorders, which implies the importance of timely recognition of the symptoms of these perinatal mental pathologies, together with obstetric and social risks, in the prenatal consultation. Psychiatric intervention should be encouraged considering the negative implications of high biopsychosocial risk in both mothers and children.

Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) as a Predictor of Treatment Response in Major Depressive Disorder (MDD): A Systematic Review.

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has been studied as a biomarker of major depressive disorder (MDD). Besides diagnostic biomarkers, clinically useful biomarkers can inform response to treatment. We aimed to review all studies that sought to relate BDNF baseline levels, or BDNF polymorphisms, with response to treatment in MDD. In order to achieve this, we performed a systematic review of studies that explored the relation of BDNF with both pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment. Finally, we reviewed the evidence that relates peripheral levels of BDNF and BDNF polymorphisms with the development and management of treatment-resistant depression.

Distorted thoughts as a mediator of depressive symptoms in patients with major depressive disorder: a longitudinal study.

BACKGROUND: Distorted thoughts are common in Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), and can impact patients' perceptions of depression severity, and predict chronicity and treatment response. This study aimed to investigate whether distorted thoughts mediate depressive symptoms in MDD over a 6-month period. METHOD: These are secondary results from a study that followed 119 patients diagnosed with moderate to severe MDD for 6 months. Diagnoses were confirmed by the Structured Interview for DSM-IV (SCID-CV). The analysis was composed of results from the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD-17), the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS), the second edition of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), and the Depression Thoughts Scale (DTS) collected at weeks 1, 8, 12 and 24. RESULTS: Results showed that the DTS mediated the relationship between depressive symptoms experienced approximately 3 months after starting antidepressant treatment. CONCLUSION: Cognitive distortions were linked as a mediator to depressive symptoms, highlighting the importance of early psychological interventions in patients with MDD who exhibit these distortions. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT02268487.

Weight changes in adults with major depressive disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies.

BACKGROUND: Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and obesity are bidirectionally related, but the amount of weight-gain secondary to MDD is unknown. We aimed to estimate the adjusted effect of MDD on weight-change in prospective studies compared to individuals without MDD. METHODS: Scopus/MEDLINE, PsycInfo, Web of Science and Cochrane were systematically searched for prospective observational studies of participants with a diagnosis of MDD. We included studies that conducted regression analyses on weight-variables. We searched for weight-variables reported at baseline, follow-up, and regression analyses. A meta-analysis of the odds ratios reported in logistic regression models was performed using the generic inverse weight variance method. RESULTS: Eight studies were included with a total of 60,443 subjects; 56.8 % with MDD. Weight-variables included weight, BMI, waist circumference, fat mass, and obesity incidence. In three follow-up reports, weight-variables increased more in participants with MDD and its subphenotypes than in control subjects, except for one MDD subphenotype. Meta-analysis of three eligible studies (n = 21,935) showed a significantly greater likelihood of incident obesity in participants with MDD (OR:1.48, 95%CI 1.03-2.13). MDD subphenotype reports might suggest a greater risk for atypical MDD. LIMITATIONS: Heterogeneity in weight related variables, follow-ups, and regression models; scarcity of follow-up data; and limited studies eligible for meta-analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Despite previous associations between MDD and obesity, current prospective evidence on MDD related weight-change is scarce and heterogeneous. Our findings suggest a need to standardize weight-change assessment in MDD trials. Moreover, careful weight tracking and management should be incorporated in clinical settings. PROSPERO registration CRD42020214427.

Neurocognitive function of patients with melancholic and non-melancholic major depressive episodes: An exploratory study.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this exploratory study was to compare the neurocognitive performance of patients undergoing melancholic and non-melancholic major depressive episodes. Considering potential limitations of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.) specifier, we employed an additional tool that has proven useful in identifying melancholia (the Sydney Melancholia Prototype Index). METHODS: One hundred forty-one depressed inpatients were classified as melancholic or non-melancholic according to the Sydney Melancholia Prototype Index and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.) criteria and compared on a neurocognitive battery selected to assess attention and processing speed, verbal memory, working memory and executive functions. Results were controlled for several potential confounders. RESULTS: Patients diagnosed as melancholic by the two diagnostic systems displayed lower scores in executive measures, semantic verbal fluency and phonological verbal fluency. On attention and processing speed, patients with melancholia underperformed those with non-melancholic depression only when diagnosed by the Sydney Melancholia Prototype Index. After controlling for confounders, associations between melancholic status and executive dysfunction remained significant for the Sydney Melancholia Prototype Index but not for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.) diagnosis. CONCLUSION: In this study, melancholia diagnosed by the Sydney Melancholia Prototype Index (but not by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders [5th ed.] criteria) was characterized by a greater compromise of tests assessing executive functions than non-melancholic depressions, even after controlling for depressive severity. These preliminary results might contribute to generating hypotheses about differences in the cognitive profile and pathophysiological substrate between melancholic and non-melancholic depressions. Likewise, the pattern of findings supports the hypothesis that the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.) melancholia specifier might identify more severe forms of depressive episodes rather than a qualitatively different subtype.

The more you need, the less you get: Intersectionality and the inverse care law in the Brazilian depression care cascade.

Substantial research has shown that the population distribution of major depressive disorder (MDD) is strongly influenced by race, gender, and socioeconomic position. However, a deeper understanding of inequities in access to care for MDD according to these social markers is yet to be reached. We use data from the 2019 Brazilian National Health Survey, which includes 87,187 respondents aged 18 years and over, to test two hypotheses derived from the inverse care law: women, Black, and low-education respondents have higher frequencies of MDD, but lower access to each step of the depression care cascade, including diagnosis by a health professional, regular healthcare visits, and access to specialised treatment (H1); low-education Black women show the highest MDD frequency and the lowest access to care across the entire cascade (H2). Partially supporting H1 and H2, our results reveal a bottleneck in the first step of the depression care cascade. While no racial inequities were observed in the MDD prevalence, Black individuals were less likely than whites to be diagnosed by a health professional (OR 0.74). Women (OR 2.64) and low-education (OR 1.18) were more likely to have probable MDD in relation to men and high-education respondents, respectively, but only women (OR 1.58) were more likely to be diagnosed. Low-education Black women were equally more likely to have probable MDD (OR 3.11) than high-education white men. Conversely, high-education white women emerged as the most likely to be diagnosed with MDD (OR 1.63). Our findings suggest the inverse care law applies to the depression care cascade in Brazil through indication that its healthcare system perpetuates a multilayered system of oppression that overlooks multiply marginalised individuals. We also show that adequate screening by health care professionals should mitigate the complex patterns of inequity revealed by our study.

Depression and suicidality severity among TRD patients after 1-year under standard of care: Findings from the TRAL study, a multicenter, multinational, observational study in Latin America.

INTRODUCTION: Treatment resistant depression (TRD) is one of the most pressing issues in mental healthcare in LatAm. However, clinical data and outcomes of standard of care (SOC) are scarce. The present study reported on the Treatment-Resistant Depression in America Latina (TRAL) project 1-year follow-up of patients under SOC assessing clinical presentation and outcomes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 420 patients with clinical diagnoses of TRD from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico were included in a 1-year follow-up to assess clinical outcomes of depression (MADRS) and suicidality (C-SSRS), as well as evolution of clinical symptoms of depression. Patients were assessed every 3 months and longitudinal comparison was performed based on change from baseline to each visit and end of study (12 months). Socio demographic characterization was also performed. RESULTS: Most patients were female (80.9%), married (42.5%) or single (34.4%), with at least 10 years of formal education (71%). MDD diagnosis was set at 37.29 (SD=14.00) years, and MDD duration was 11.11 years (SD=10.34). After 1-year of SOC, 79.1% of the patients were still symptomatic, and 40% of the patients displayed moderate/severe depression. Only 44.1% of the patients achieved a response (≥50% improvement in MADRS), and 60% of the sample failed to achieve remission. Suicidal ideation was reported by more than half of the patients at the end of study. CONCLUSIONS: Depression and suicidality symptoms after a 1-year of SOC is of great concern. Better therapeutic options are needed to tackle this debilitating and burdensome disease.

The Validity and Reliability of the PHQ-9 and PHQ-2 on Screening for Major Depression in Spanish Speaking Immigrants in Chile: A Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: The study aimed to explore the psychometric properties of two versions of the Patient Health Questionnaires (PHQ-9 and PHQ-2) on screening for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) among Spanish-speaking Latin American adult immigrants in Santiago, and to explore factors associated with a higher risk of occurrence of MDD among them. METHODS: A representative sample of 897 Spanish-speaking immigrants completed the PHQ-9. The Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) was employed to evaluate MDD. Internal consistency and structural validity were evaluated using Cronbach's α coefficient and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Convergent validity with the 7-item General Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) was assessed using Spearman's correlations. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive values, and area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve were calculated for different cut-off points. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with the risk of MDD. RESULTS: Cronbach's α coefficient of the PHQ-9 was 0.90; item-total correlation coefficients ranged from 0.61 to 0.76 and correlation with the GAD-7 was moderate (r = 0.625; p < 0.001). CFA on three alternative models suggests a plausible fit in the overall sample and among two of the subsamples: Peruvians and Venezuelans. Taking the results of CIDI as the gold standard for MDD, the area under the ROC curve was 0.91 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.83~1.0). When the cut-off score was equal to 5, values of sensitivity, specificity, and Youden's index were 0.85, 0.90, and 0.75, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression analyses showed that the influence of having three or more children (OR = 3.91, 95% CI: 1.20~12.81; p < 0.05), residency in Chile of up to three years (OR = 1.79, 95% CI: 1.07~3.00; p < 0.05), active debt (OR = 2.74, 95% CI: 1.60~4.70; p < 0.001), a one (OR = 2.01, 95% CI: 1.03~3.94; p < 0.05) and two or more events of adversity during childhood (OR = 5.25, 95% CI: 1.93~14.3; p < 0.01) on the occurrence of MDD was statistically significant. Reliability (α = 0.62), convergent (r = 0.534; p < 0.01) and criterion (AUC = 0.85, 95% CI: 0.67~1.00) validity coefficients of the PHQ-2 were weaker than for the PHQ-9. CONCLUSIONS: The PHQ-2 and the PHQ-9 are reliable and valid instruments for use as screeners for MDD among Spanish-speaking populations of Latin America.

Risk of Suicide in Patients With Major Depressive Disorder and Comorbid Chronic Pain Disorder: An Insight From National Inpatient Sample Data.

BACKGROUND: Approximately 17.3 million adults in the United States have had a minimum of one major depressive episode. Comorbidity of depression and pain can affect individuals of any age, but is more prevalent in the elderly affecting up to 13% of people in the elderly population. Given that depression and suicidal ideation (SI) pose a considerable burden resulting in enormous suffering, there is a need to understand the factors of the relationship between chronic pain (CP), depression, and SI. OBJECTIVES: Our primary objective in this study was to compare suicidality (SI/attempt [SA]) between patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and CP and a matched control group. The secondary objective was to compare length of stay, total hospital costs, and discharge disposition in these populations. STUDY DESIGN: The National Inpatient Sample (NIS) dataset developed by the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project was used for this study. The NIS is a database of hospital inpatient stays derived from billing data submitted by hospitals to statewide data organizations across the United States. We obtained patient records from the NIS dataset for the years 2006 to 2017. All data were de-identified so Institutional Review Board approval was waived. METHODS: We used mean and standard error to describe continuous data and counts (percentage) to describe categorical data. Categorical data were compared using Rao-Scott adjusted chi-square tests and continuous data were compared using Student's t tests. Matching was performed using propensity scores in random order with a caliper size of 0.001. To assess predictors associated with suicidality, logistic regression analysis was performed. RESULTS: A total of 393,481 patients having MDD with CP (MDD+CP) were included in the analysis. The mean age was 49.4 years, and 54.9% of patients were women. Overall, rate of composite outcome of SI/SA was more prevalent in MDD+CP group (51% vs 41%, P < 0.001). Rate of SI was 48% vs 39% (P < 0.001) in the MDD+CP and MDD without CP (MDD-CP) groups, respectively. MDD+CP was one of the strongest predictors of suicidality, responsible for 48% more risk of SI/SA compared to MDD-CP group. In comparison to non-Whites, the rate of suicidality was 7.5% less in White population. Alcohol abuse and substance abuse were associated with 17% and 8% greater risk of SI/SA, respectively. For women, the odds of having SI/SA was 1.20 greater compared to men. LIMITATIONS: No information was available on the causal relationship between MDD+CP disorder and SI/SA. Retrospective studies are susceptible to recognition, reporting, and coding bias. There is no information available on medications use or the duration and severity of CP and bipolar disorder, which can all be confounding factors. CONCLUSIONS: Psychiatrists and other physicians must be cognizant of the presence of CP and the risk of suicide, especially when patients present with depressive symptoms. The treatment plan for this patient population should include routine screening for pain symptoms and risk assessment for SI.

Efficacy and Safety of Subcutaneous Esketamine in the Treatment of Suicidality in Major Depressive Disorder and Bipolar Depression.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Affective disorders account for most cases of suicide. The pharmacological arsenal to treat suicidality is limited and available agents take too long to take effect. A large body of evidence shows optimal results of ketamine for treating depression, but the evidence concerning suicidality has not been fully described. We report the first real-world study of severely depressed patients presenting with suicide ideation who were treated with repeated administration of subcutaneous esketamine. METHODS: We analyzed data from 70 acutely depressed subjects diagnosed with resistant major depressive disorder or bipolar depression. Subjects were administered subcutaneous esketamine once a week for 6 weeks. The primary efficacy endpoint, the change from baseline to 24-h post-administration 6 in the item 10 Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale score, was analyzed using a mixed-effects repeated-measures model. RESULTS: There were significant effects for time on item 10 Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale scores (p < 0.0001) but not for a time × diagnosis interaction (p = 0.164) from baseline to the end of the study. Efficacy of esketamine did not differ between groups (major depressive disorder vs bipolar depression) at any timepoint. Statistical significance on suicidality scores was observed from 24 h after the first administration (p < 0.001), and a further reduction was observed with repeated administrations. Esketamine was safe and well tolerated. Mean heart rate remained stable during the administrations and the blood pressure increase was self-limited. CONCLUSIONS: Repeated subcutaneous esketamine administration had significant anti-suicidality effects in both major depressive disorder and bipolar groups, with a rapid onset of action and a good tolerability profile. Large randomized controlled trials are warranted to confirm these preliminary findings.

Identifying adolescents at risk for depression: Assessment of a global prediction model in the Great Smoky Mountains Study.

The Identifying Depression Early in Adolescence Risk Score (IDEA-RS) has been externally assessed in samples from four continents, but North America is lacking. Our aim here was to evaluate the performance of the IDEA-RS in predicting future onset of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) in an adolescent population-based sample in the United States of America - the Great Smoky Mountains Study (GSMS). We applied the intercept and weights of the original IDEA-RS model developed in Brazil to generate individual probabilities for each participant of the GSMS at age 15 (N = 1029). We then evaluated the performance of such predictions against the diagnosis of MDD at age 19 using simple, case-mix corrected and refitted models. Furthermore, we compared how prioritizing the information provided by parents or by adolescents affected performance. The IDEA-RS exhibited a C-statistic of 0.63 (95% CI 0.53-0.74) to predict MDD in the GSMS when applying uncorrected weights. Case-mix corrected and refitted models enhanced performance to 0.69 and 0.67, respectively. No significant difference was found in performance by prioritizing the reports of adolescents or their parents. The IDEA-RS was able to parse out adolescents at risk for a later onset of depression in the GSMS cohort with above chance discrimination. The IDEA-RS has now showed above-chance performance in five continents.

Immature defense mechanisms predict poor response to psychotherapy in major depressive patients with comorbid cluster B personality disorder.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of defense mechanisms at baseline on depressive symptoms after brief psychotherapies and after 6-months of follow-up among depressed patients with and without cluster B personality disorders (PDs). METHODS: This quasi-experimental study nested within a randomized clinical trial included a clinical sample of adults (18-60 years) diagnosed with major depressive disorder using the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview. The Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III was applied to assess PD, the Defense Style Questionnaire 40 was used to analyze defense mechanisms, and the Beck Depression Inventory was used to measure the severity of depressive symptoms. Adjusted analysis was performed by linear regression. RESULTS: The final sample consisted of 177 patients diagnosed with major depressive disorder, of whom 39.5% had cluster B PDs. Immature defenses at baseline significantly predicted the persistence of depressive symptoms at post-intervention and at 6-months of follow-up only in patients with PDs. CONCLUSION: In depressed patients with cluster B PDs, immature defenses predicted a poor response to brief therapies. The assessment of immature defenses at baseline can help identify patients at greater risk of poor therapeutic results and enable more appropriate treatment choices.

Combinación de datos de la Encuesta Nacional de Salud con notificaciones GES de depresión para mejorar la estimación de la prevalencia de depresión en Chile / Combining the national health survey with GES notifications to improve the depression prevalence estimation in Chile

BACKGROUND: Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a public health problem of increasing severity in Chile. However, prevalence studies of MDD yield discordant results. Reconciling these discordances, at least in part, requires improving the estimate of MDD prevalence in Chile. AIM: To improve the estimate of MDD prevalence in Chile, by combining data from the 2016/17 Chilean National Health Survey (ENS) with data from the mandatory notifications of users of the Explicit health guaranties (GES acronym in Spanish) program of the Ministry of Health for MDD treatment. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The 2016/17 ENS, applied a Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) module (n = 3,403), to diagnose individuals with MDD. This article presents an approach that combines the CIDI/ENS diagnoses with GES depression notifications for this period. This dataset combination was applied first to individual macro-zones, then at a national level. RESULTS: The analysis with ENS 2016/17 data only, yields a prevalence of MDD in subjects 18 years or older of 6.19% (95% CI: 4.51-8.43). However, the analysis of the combined data sources yields a prevalence that increases to 6.65% (95% CI: 4.63-8.67). In terms of number of cases, this prevalence increase translates into 63,474 additional MDD cases per year. CONCLUSIONS: The MDD prevalence that results from combining ENS 2016/17 and GES data is greater than the prevalence reported by the ENS 2016/17 alone. This increase in cases allows policymakers to improve budgeting and implementation of public policies concerning the prevention and treatment of MDD.

Social and Economic Factors Associated With Subthreshold and Major Depressive Episode in University Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Depression is one of the most frequent mental health disorders in college students and variations according to social and economic factors have been reported, however, whether social and economic variations also exist in subthreshold depression is still unknown, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of subthreshold depressive episode (SDE) and major depressive episode (MDE) and to examine the association between social and economic factors with SDE and MDE in undergraduate students during the COVID-19 pandemic. The participants were 1,577 college students from a university in the south of Chile (64.6% females, 22 years old on average). The participants took an online survey in November 2020 which collected information about social and economic variables, depressive symptoms, and perceived social support. Bivariate and multinomial logistic regression analysis were used. The results showed a high prevalence of SDE (14.3%) and MDE (32.3%) in the sample. Belonging to a social group and perceiving positive social support were the only variables examined that were associated with SDE. Instead, female sex, poorer quintiles, living with other relatives but not parents, economic difficulties due to the pandemic, being a parent, and perceiving positive social support were associated with MDE. Subthreshold and threshold depressive symptoms are frequent in college students, and associations with social and economic factors differ according to the level of such symptoms. These results should be considered in the development of tailored preventive and early interventions for depression in college students.

Major depression favors the expansion of Th17-like cells and decrease the proportion of CD39+Treg cell subsets in response to myelin antigen in multiple sclerosis patients.

BACKGROUND: Mood disorders have been associated with risk of clinical relapses in multiple sclerosis (MS), a demyelinating disease mediated by myelin-specific T cells. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to investigate the impact of major depressive disorder (MDD) and cytokine profile of T-cells in relapsing remitting MS patients. METHODS: For our study, plasma and PBMC were obtained from 60 MS patients (30 with lifetime MDD) in remission phase. The PBMC cultures were stimulated with anti-CD3/anti-CD28 beads or myelin basic protein (MBP), and effector and regulatory T cell phenotypes were determined by flow cytometry. The cytokine levels, both in the plasma or in the supernatants collected from PBMC cultures, were quantified by Luminex. In some experiments, the effect of serotonin (5-HT) was investigated. RESULTS: Here, higher Th17-related cytokine levels in response to anti-CD3/anti-CD28 and MBP were quantified in the plasma and PBMC cultures of the MS/MDD group in comparison with MS patients. Further, elevated frequency of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells capable of producing IL-17, IL-22 and GM-CSF was observed in depressed patients. Interestingly, the percentage of myelin-specific IFN-γ+IL-17+ and IFN-γ+GM-CSF+ CD4+ T cells directly correlated with neurological disabilities. In contrast, the occurrence of MDD reduced the proportion of MBP-specific CD39+Tregs subsets. Notably, the severity of both neurological disorder and depressive symptoms inversely correlated with these Tregs. Finally, the addition of 5-HT downregulated the release of Th17-related cytokines in response to anti-CD3/anti-CD28 and myelin antigen. CONCLUSIONS: In summary, our findings suggested that recurrent major depression, by favoring imbalances of effector Th17 and Treg cell subsets, contributes to MS severity.

On the criteria for diagnosing depression in bereaved individuals: a self-organizing map approach.

Bereavement exclusion (BE) is a criterion for excluding the diagnosis of major depressive disorder (MDD). Simplistically, this criterion states that an individual who reports MDD symptoms should not be diagnosed as suffering from this mental illness, if such an individual is grieving a sorrowful loss. BE was introduced in 1980 to avoid confusing MDD with normal grief, because several cognitive and physical symptoms of grief and depression can look similar. However, in 2013, BE was removed from the MDD diagnosis guidelines. Here, this controversial topic is computationally investigated. A virtual population is generated according to the Brazilian data of death rate and MDD prevalence and its five kinds of individuals are clustered by using a Kohonen's self-organizing map (SOM). In addition, by examining the current guidelines for diagnosing MDD from an analytical perspective, a slight modification is proposed. With this modification, an adequate clustering is achieved by the SOM neural network. Therefore, for mathematical consistency, unbalanced scores should be assigned to the items composing the MDD diagnostic criteria. With the proposed criteria, the co-occurrence of normal grief and MDD can also be satisfactorily clustered.