This work may not be copied, distributed, displayed, published, reproduced, transmitted, modified, posted, sold, licensed, or used for commercial purposes. By downloading this file, you are agreeing to the publisher’s Terms & Conditions.

Original Research

Early Antidepressant Resistance in Late-Onset Major Depressive Disorder: A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study

Po-Chun Lin, MDa; Ta-Chuan Yeh, MDb; Ya-Mei Bai, MD, PhDc,d; Ju-Wei Hsu, MDc,d; Kai-Lin Huang, MDc,d; Nai-Ying Ko, PhDe; Che-Sheng Chu, MDf,g; Hsuan-Te Chu, MDa; Shih-Jen Tsai, MDc,d; Tzeng-Ji Chen, MD; PhDh,i; Chih-Sung Liang, MDa,j,*; and Mu-Hong Chen, MDc,d,*

Published: March 23, 2022

ABSTRACT

Background: The association of treatment resistance with physical and psychiatric comorbidities remains unclear in elderly patients with late-onset major depressive disorder (MDD).

Methods: Participants were selected from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. We included patients aged ≥ 65 years with first-episode MDD (ICD-9-CM codes: 296.2X and 296.3X) between January 1, 2001, and December 31, 2010. All participants were followed for 1 year to investigate the incidence of treatment resistance. Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) was defined as unresponsiveness to at least 2 antidepressants, and treatment-resistant tendency (TRT) was defined as unresponsiveness to the first antidepressant. Physical comorbidities were assessed with the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI).

Results: 27,189 patients with late-onset MDD were included, among whom 16.6% had the diagnosis of anxiety disorders, 1.5% had alcohol use disorders, and 1.6% had substance use disorder. For physical comorbidities, only 16.6% of patients had a CCI score of 0. During the first year of treatment, 22.1% of patients met TRT criteria, and 1.6% developed TRD. Anxiety disorders (odds ratio: 2.06; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.67–2.53), substance use disorders (2.11; 95% CI, 1.26–3.53), and higher CCI scores (1.06; 95% CI, 1.01–1.10) were significantly associated with TRD, while anxiety disorders (1.44; 95% CI, 1.34–1.55) and higher CCI scores (1.06; 95% CI, 1.05–1.08) were significantly associated with TRT.

Conclusions: Approximately one-fourth of elderly patients responded poorly to the first antidepressant treatment during the first year of late-onset MDD. Psychiatric comorbidities were more associated with the risk of early TRT than were physical comorbidities.

Volume: 83

Quick Links: Depression (MDD) , Geriatric

Continue Reading…

Subscribe to read the entire article

$40.00

Buy this Article as a PDF

References