Describing the burden of disease amongst inpatients with treatment resistant major depressive disorder in Australia.

Objective: To describe the quality of life and clinical characteristics of treatment-resistant depression (TRD) patients in an Australian patient cohort recruited cross-sectionally during admission.

Method: Inpatients admitted for TRD treatment completed a quality of life questionnaire (AQoL-8D) and a depression severity assessment (HAM-D). A chart review and patient interview occurred for demographic and patient characteristics. Comparisons between the mean AQoL-8D scores of the study population and Australian population norms occurred.

Results: 79 TRD inpatients (70.9% female), mean age of 44.8 ± 14.9 years, were recruited, with 78.5% having an anxiety disorder, 48.1% post-traumatic stress disorder, and 30.4% a personality disorder. Adjunctive to antidepressants, 92.4% were taking antipsychotics and 55.7% were taking mood stabilisers. Approximately 42% of patients received transcranial magnetic stimulation, and 35.4% received electroconvulsive therapy. Mean HAM-D score was 20.3 ± 5.2, and AQoL-8D score (120.1 ± 16.5) was significantly higher than Australian population norms (p < .001) indicating reduced quality of life.

Conclusions: Personal and clinical characteristics of patients hospitalised for TRD were similar to TRD globally with impaired quality of life relative to the general Australian population. TRD patients on average presented with moderate/severe depression, highlighting the need for greater support for these individuals.