New research was published yesterday that shows that if you’ve got what the researchers call “anxious depression,” your treatment will likely be less effective than if you had just plain depression without anxiety. More than half of the people enrolled in the STAR*D trial (results of which were published in 2006) would qualify as having “anxious depression.” Anxious depression is simply major depression with a co-occurring anxiety disorder.

The finding is important because it means that with proper assessment for anxiety at the time of the initial depression diagnosis, a person’s treatment may be better tailored to be more effective.

The limitations of the study were that the researchers used the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale to measure anxiety, which is not the most reliable nor robust instrument to use for such a measurement. The Hamilton is also not a self-report measure — it’s clinician-administered, meaning the results are colored by the clinician’s interpretation of what the patient is telling them.

Read the full article: Anxious Depression Predicts Poorer Treatment Results

Dr. John Grohol is the CEO and founder of Psych Central. He is an author, researcher and expert in mental health online, and has been writing about online behavior, mental health and psychology issues -- as well as the intersection of technology and human behavior -- since 1992. Dr. Grohol sits on the editorial board of the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking and is a founding board member and treasurer of the Society for Participatory Medicine.

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Article Hunter » Blog Archive » Depressed and Anxious? Treatment Isn?t As Effective (6/2/2008)

    Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 3 Jan 2008
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