Abstract
BackgroundPsychomotor Retardation is a key symptom of Major Depressive Disorder. According to the literature its presence may affect the prognosis of treatment. Aim of the present study is to investigate the prognostic role of Psychomotor Retardation in patients with unipolar Psychotic Depression who are under antidepressant treatment. MethodsThe Salpetriere Retardation Rating Scale was administered at baseline and after 6 weeks to 122 patients with unipolar Psychotic Depression who were randomly allocated to treatment with imipramine, venlafaxine or venlafaxine plus quetiapine. We studied the effects of Psychomotor Retardation on both depression and psychosis related outcome measures. Results73% of the patients had Psychomotor Retardation at baseline against 35% after six weeks of treatment. The presence of Psychomotor Retardation predicted lower depression remission rates in addition to a higher persistence of delusions. After six weeks of treatment, venlafaxine was associated with higher levels of Psychomotor Retardation compared to imipramine and venlafaxine plus quetiapine. ConclusionsOur data confirm that Psychomotor Retardation is a severity marker of unipolar Psychotic Depression. It is highly prevalent and predicts lower effectivity of antidepressant psychopharmacological treatment.
Highlights
Psychomotor Retardation is a key symptom of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) (American Psychiatric Association, 2013)
In supplementary analyses we investigated the contribution of the interactions of treatment strategy and Psychomotor Retardation by adding the three products of treatment group by baseline Salpetriere Retardation Rating Scale (SRRS)-6 score
When the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D) retardation item was excluded from the total baseline HAM-D score, the association was no longer significant (r = 0.13 NS)
Summary
Psychomotor Retardation is a key symptom of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). It is char acterized by slowness in both cognitive and motor processing and can be observed in speech, thinking and body movements (Schrijvers et al, 2008). Methods: The Salpetriere Retardation Rating Scale was administered at baseline and after 6 weeks to 122 patients with unipolar Psychotic Depression who were randomly allocated to treatment with imipramine, venlafaxine or venlafaxine plus quetiapine. Conclusions: Our data confirm that Psychomotor Retardation is a severity marker of unipolar Psychotic Depression. It is highly prevalent and predicts lower effectivity of antidepressant psychopharmacological treatment
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