Differences in psychiatric symptoms among Asian patients with depression: a multi-country cross-sectional study

Sulaiman, A.H. and Bautista, D. and Liu, C.Y. and Udomratn, P. and Bae, J.N. and Fang, Y.R. and Chua, H.C. and Liu, S.I. and George, T. and Chan, E. and Tian-mei, S. and Hong, J.P. and Srisurapanont, M. and Rush, A.J. and Mood Disorders Res, Asian (2014) Differences in psychiatric symptoms among Asian patients with depression: a multi-country cross-sectional study. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 68 (4). pp. 245-254. ISSN 1323-1316, DOI https://doi.org/10.1111/pcn.12118.

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Official URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/pcn.121...

Abstract

Aim The aim of this study was to compare the symptomatic and clinical features of depression among five groups of patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) living in China, Korea, Malaysia/Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand. Methods Consecutive consenting adults (aged 18-65) who met DSM-IV criteria for non-psychotic MDD - based on the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview - and who were free of psychotropic medication were evaluated in a cross-sectional study. Depressive symptoms were evaluated using the 10-item Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) and the 13-item depression subscale of the Symptoms Checklist 90-Revised (SCL-90-R). In addition, the 10-item SCL-90-R Anxiety Subscale was completed. ancova were conducted, adjusting for confounders: age, completion of secondary education, marital status, work status, religion, index episode duration, and depressive severity. For the magnitude of differences, a threshold of 0.10 was taken as theminimum effect size representing clinical significance, and an effect size of 0.25 was considered moderate. Results Four MADRS symptoms differentiated these five groups, the most prominent being 'lassitude' and 'inner tension'. Nine SCL-90-R depression items also differentiated the groups, as did eight SCL-90-R Anxiety Subscale items. The MADRS lassitude item had the largest effect size (0.131). The rest of those statistically significant differences did not exceed 0.10. Conclusion MDD is more similar than different among outpatients in these diverse Asian countries. The between-country differences, while present and not due to chance, are small enough to enable the use of common clinician and self-report rating scales in studies involving Asians with MDD from various ethnic backgrounds.

Item Type: Article
Funders: UNSPECIFIED
Uncontrolled Keywords: Asian; depression; depressive disorders; ethnicity; symptom
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
R Medicine
Divisions: Faculty of Medicine
Depositing User: Ms Haslinda Lahuddin
Date Deposited: 18 Jul 2014 00:21
Last Modified: 18 Jul 2014 00:21
URI: http://eprints.um.edu.my/id/eprint/10963

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