{"title":"The influence of gender-specific factors influencing severe anxiety in psychotic major depression: role of thyroid hormones and depression severity.","authors":"Guoshuai Luo, Yifan Jing, Jie Yang, Shuo Wang, Zaimina Xuekelaiti, Cong Yao, Ying Gao, Hongli Chen, Daliang Sun, Jie Li, Xiangyang Zhang","doi":"10.1007/s00702-024-02781-3","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Psychotic major depression (PMD) is characterized by major depressive disorder (MDD) accompanied by delusions or hallucinations. While the prevalence of PMD and its association with anxiety have been studied, gender-specific differences and the role of thyroid hormones in PMD-related anxiety remain less explored.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A total of 1718 first-episode and drug-naïve MDD patients was assessed for the presence of PMD and severe anxiety. Clinical assessments, including Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD), Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAMA), Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), and Clinical Global Impressions-Severity (CGI-S) scale, were conducted to assess depression, anxiety, psychotic symptoms, and clinical severity, respectively. Blood samples were collected to measure thyroid function parameters.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The prevalence of severe anxiety was higher in PMD patients compared to non-psychotic MDD patients (71.3% vs. 5.3%). No significant gender differences were observed in the prevalence of severe anxiety among PMD patients. However, elevated thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels and increased depression severity (HAMD scores) were identified as independent risk factors for severe anxiety in female PMD patients. In contrast, no significant risk factors were found in male PMD patients. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUCROC) analysis revealed that the HAMD score and TSH level showed acceptable discriminatory capacity for distinguishing between female PMD patients with and without severe anxiety.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This study highlights the heightened prevalence of severe anxiety in PMD patients, with TSH levels and depression severity emerging as gender-specific risk factors for anxiety in females. These findings suggest the importance of thyroid hormone assessment and tailored interventions for managing anxiety in female PMD patients.</p>","PeriodicalId":16579,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Neural Transmission","volume":" ","pages":"833-845"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2000,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Neural Transmission","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00702-024-02781-3","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2024/5/2 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"CLINICAL NEUROLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Psychotic major depression (PMD) is characterized by major depressive disorder (MDD) accompanied by delusions or hallucinations. While the prevalence of PMD and its association with anxiety have been studied, gender-specific differences and the role of thyroid hormones in PMD-related anxiety remain less explored.
Methods: A total of 1718 first-episode and drug-naïve MDD patients was assessed for the presence of PMD and severe anxiety. Clinical assessments, including Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD), Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAMA), Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), and Clinical Global Impressions-Severity (CGI-S) scale, were conducted to assess depression, anxiety, psychotic symptoms, and clinical severity, respectively. Blood samples were collected to measure thyroid function parameters.
Results: The prevalence of severe anxiety was higher in PMD patients compared to non-psychotic MDD patients (71.3% vs. 5.3%). No significant gender differences were observed in the prevalence of severe anxiety among PMD patients. However, elevated thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels and increased depression severity (HAMD scores) were identified as independent risk factors for severe anxiety in female PMD patients. In contrast, no significant risk factors were found in male PMD patients. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUCROC) analysis revealed that the HAMD score and TSH level showed acceptable discriminatory capacity for distinguishing between female PMD patients with and without severe anxiety.
Conclusion: This study highlights the heightened prevalence of severe anxiety in PMD patients, with TSH levels and depression severity emerging as gender-specific risk factors for anxiety in females. These findings suggest the importance of thyroid hormone assessment and tailored interventions for managing anxiety in female PMD patients.
期刊介绍:
The investigation of basic mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of neurological and psychiatric disorders has undoubtedly deepened our knowledge of these types of disorders. The impact of basic neurosciences on the understanding of the pathophysiology of the brain will further increase due to important developments such as the emergence of more specific psychoactive compounds and new technologies.
The Journal of Neural Transmission aims to establish an interface between basic sciences and clinical neurology and psychiatry. It intends to put a special emphasis on translational publications of the newest developments in the field from all disciplines of the neural sciences that relate to a better understanding and treatment of neurological and psychiatric disorders.