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CASE VIGNETTE
“Mr Mills” is a 45-year-old Caucasian male with a historical past of recurrent, reasonable main depressive dysfunction (MDD). He additionally has important signs of hysteria. He doesn’t smoke, drink alcohol, or use illicit medicine, and his physique mass index is 25. He has comorbid hyperlipidemia, however no different medical issues. His psychotropic drugs embody sertraline 100 mg every day for despair and propranolol 20 mg twice every day for nervousness. He additionally takes simvastatin 20 mg at bedtime for ldl cholesterol.
Mr Mills seen some muscle cramps, which he attributed to the simvastatin, and began taking over-the-counter co-enzyme Q10 as a complement. The muscle cramps improved, however over the following 2 months, he famous a gentle worsening of depressive signs within the absence of different particular stressors. He stopped the co-enzyme Q10, and inside 2 to three weeks his temper returned to baseline. He mentioned this expertise together with his outpatient psychiatrist and requested about different drugs that is likely to be related to worsening despair.
Residual depressive signs are widespread in MDD.1 Medical comorbidities are an recognized threat issue for persistent depressive signs.1,2 Though the mechanism(s) of this affiliation is/should not clear, irritation and childhood adversity—that are related to each medical circumstances and worse therapy outcomes in despair—could play a task.3,4
Sufferers with depressive and medical comorbidities usually use non-psychiatric drugs that will themselves be related to elevated threat of depressive signs.5
The Present Examine
Mojtabai and colleagues6 used knowledge from the Nationwide Well being and Diet Examination Survey (NHANES) to look at the affiliation between drugs with potential depressive symptom unwanted effects (PDSS) and the extent of depressive signs in antidepressant-treated sufferers with MDD. Knowledge had been drawn from NHANES 2013 to 2014, 2015 to 2016, and 2017 to 2018 surveys of the US basic inhabitants.
The pattern was restricted to 885 adults taking antidepressant drugs for a minimum of 6 weeks and with knowledge on depressive signs. Non-psychiatric drugs with PDSS had been recognized as these with “despair” or “depressive signs” listed as widespread or severe adversarial results utilizing Micromedex.
Respondents had been requested concerning the “fundamental motive” for taking every treatment, and their causes had been translated into ICD-10 codes. Present depressive signs had been measured with the Affected person Well being Questionnaire=9 (PHQ-9). PHQ-9 scores had been dichotomized into no-to minimal (< 5) and moderate-to-severe (≥ 10) depressive symptoms. Data were also obtained on age, sex, race/ethnicity, income, education, health insurance, and common chronic medical conditions. Binary logistic regression models were used to investigate the associations between the number of medications with PDSS and a) no/minimal and b) moderate/severe depressive symptoms. The numbers of medications without PDSS were included in each model as a placebo test. Separate logistic regression models were repeated in more homogenous groups of patients with MDD and arthritis and MDD and hypertension, separately. The majority of the 885 participants were female (71%), aged ≥ 50 years (62%), and non-Hispanic white (82%), and had a college education (69%). Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors were the most common class of antidepressants (68%). The majority of patients (79%) had been on the same antidepressant for > 1 yr. Equally, 85% used ≥ 1 treatment for medical comorbidities, 67% used ≥ 1 treatment with PDSS, and 75% used ≥ 1 treatment with out PDSS.
In comparison with different contributors, these with arthritis and coronary heart illness had considerably decrease odds of no/minimal signs and considerably increased odds of reasonable/extreme signs. Sufferers with liver and lung illness additionally had considerably increased odds of reasonable/extreme signs.
After adjusting for potential confounding/moderating elements, extra drugs with PDSS had been related to considerably decrease odds of no/minimal signs (OR=0.75, 95% CI 0.64-0.87) and considerably increased odds of reasonable/extreme signs (OR=1.14, 95% CI 1.00-1.29). In contrast, there have been no associations between drugs with out PDSS and depressive signs. Findings had been related in analyses restricted to contributors with arthritis and hypertension.
Particular person drugs considerably related to the severity of depressive signs included omeprazole, gabapentin, meloxicam, tramadol, ranitidine, baclofen, oxycodone, tizanidine, propranolol, and morphine. There was a dose-dependent impact of PDSS. The proportion of sufferers with no/minimal signs ranged from 51% in these not utilizing any drugs with PDSS to five% in these utilizing ≥ 3 such drugs.
Equally, the proportion of sufferers with reasonable/extreme signs ranged from 22% in these not utilizing any drugs with PDSS to 63% in these utilizing ≥ 3 such drugs.
Examine Conclusions
The authorsconcluded that people handled for MDD regularly use non-psychiatric drugs for comorbid medical circumstances which might be related to an elevated threat of depressive signs.
Associations of medicines with PDSS and depressive signs should not attributable to persistent medical comorbidities related to each treatment use and worse therapy outcomes in despair. Importantly, 7 of 10 drugs discovered to be related to increased depressive signs are used for the therapy of ache or muscle spasms.
Examine limitations embody the residual confounding by medical comorbidities or ache, detailed scientific details about MDD in contributors, and the cross-sectional design and self-report nature of the survey.
The Backside Line
Administration of medical comorbidities, together with considered number of drugs with PDSS, may enhance response to antidepressant therapy and affected person outcomes.
Dr Miller is a professor within the Division of Psychiatry and Well being Habits at Augusta College in Georgia. He’s on the Editorial Board and serves because the schizophrenia part chief for Psychiatric Occasions®. The writer reviews that he receives analysis help from Augusta College, the Nationwide Institute of Psychological Well being, and the Stanley Medical Analysis Institute.
References
1. Mojtabai R. Nonremission and time to remission amongst remitters in main depressive dysfunction: revisiting STAR*D. Depress Anxiousness. 2017;34(12):1123-1133.
2. Zisook S, Johnson GR, Tal I, et al. Common predictors and moderators of despair remission: a VAST-D report. Am J Psychiatry. 2019;176(5):348-357.
3. Chan KL, Cathomas F, Russo SJ. Central and peripheral irritation hyperlink metabolic syndrome and main depressive dysfunction. Physiology (Bethesda). 2019;34(2):123-133.
4. Nelson J, Klumparendt A, Doebler P, Ehring T. Childhood maltreatment and traits of grownup despair: meta-analysis. Br J Psychiatry. 2017;210(2):96-104.
5. Botts S, Ryan M. Melancholy. In: Tisdale JE, Miller DA, eds. Drug-Induced Ailments: Prevention, Detection, and Administration. third ed. American Society of Well being-System Pharmacists; 2018:375-397.
6. Mojtabai R, Amin-Esmaeili M, Spivak S, Olfson M. Use of non-psychiatric drugs with potential depressive symptom unwanted effects and degree of depressive signs in main depressive dysfunction. J Clin Psychiatry. 2023;84(4):22m14705.