Does the presence of multiple sclerosis impact on symptom profile in depressed patients?

摘要

Abstract Objective Major depressive disorder (MDD) is common in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) but may remain unrecognized because of overlapping symptoms and different presentation due to its specific MS-related neurobiological aetiology. We aimed to investigate the clinical profile of MDD in MS. Methods In a sample of MDD patients with MS (n=83) and without MS (n=782), MDD characteristics, 30 depressive symptoms, and sum scores of cognitive, somatic, atypical and melancholic symptom clusters were compared using logistic regression analyses and analysis of co-variance. Results MDD in MS was characterized by older age of onset (p Conclusion Only subtle differences in depressive symptom profiles existed between MDD patients with and without MS. The clinical profile of depression remains valid among MS patients, although it presents with diminished anxiety distress and comorbidity. Highlights ? The clinical profile of depression remains valid among MS patients. ? The symptom profile of MDD in MS is quite similar compared with patients without MS. ? MS-related depression was characterized by later onset. ? MDD in MS presents with diminished anxiety-distress and comorbidity.