Identifying Subjective Symptoms Associated with Psychomotor Disturbance in Melancholia: A Multiple Regression Analysis Study

• Main Authors: Tamada Y, Inoue T, Sekine A, Toda H, Takeshima M, Sasaki M, Shindome K, Morita W, Kuyama N, Ohmae S
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dove Medical Press 2021-04-01
• Series: Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment
• Subjects: major depressive disorder; melancholic features; core measure; endogenous depression; diagnosis; psychomotor retardation
• Online Access: https://www.dovepress.com/identifying-subjective-symptoms-associated-with-psychomotor-disturbanc-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-NDT

Yu Tamada,1– 3 Takeshi Inoue,2 Atsushi Sekine,4 Hiroyuki Toda,5 Minoru Takeshima,2,6 Masaaki Sasaki,3 Keisuke Shindome,5 Wataru Morita,5 Nagisa Kuyama,3 Susumu Ohmae3 1Department of Psychiatry, Toranomon Hospital Kajigaya, Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan; 2Department of Psychiatry, Tokyo Medical University, Tokyo, Japan; 3Department of Psychiatry, Toranomon Hospital, Tokyo, Japan; 4The Medical Foundation of Keishin-Kai, Kei Mental Clinic, Daisen, Akita, Japan; 5Department of Psychiatry, National Defense Medical College, Tokorozawa, Saitama, Japan; 6Shibata Hospital, Takaoka, Toyama, JapanCorrespondence: Yu TamadaDepartment of Psychiatry, Toranomon Hospital Kajigaya, 1-3-1 Kajigaya, Takatsu-ku, Kawasaki, Kanagawa, 213-8587, JapanTel [phone]Fax [phone]Email [e-mail]: Melancholia has recently been re-evaluated, because patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) were found to be heterogeneous. However, the DSM-5 criteria for melancholia (DSM-MEL) have been criticized, because of the difficulty in clearly distinguishing between melancholic and non-melancholic depression using DSM-MEL. Psychomotor disturbance (PMD) is one of the most important, as well as one of the only measurable symptoms of melancholia. Parker et al developed the CORE measure, which assesses PMD as a behavioral characteristic. The aim of our study was to objectively identify the subjective symptoms of melancholia by analyzing the symptoms associated with PMD.Patients and Methods: A total of 106 participants with MDD were examined by psychiatrists. Multiple regression analysis was performed in which the total CORE score was the dependent variable, and items of the DSM-MEL and historically suggested melancholic features were independent variables.Results: The following five independent variables were able to predict the total CORE score: 1) feelings of having lost feeling, 2) depressive delusions, 3) perplexity, 4) indecisiveness, and 5) no aggression against others. These five variables were more strongly associated with the total CORE score than the DSM-MEL.Limitation: The major limitation of this study was that when choosing non-DSM melancholic signs and symptoms, we did not comprehensively evaluate and select the symptoms but chose items that are clinically important.Conclusion: We identified five subjective symptoms that were associated with PMD. These five symptoms may be clinically useful as diagnostic criteria for melancholia.Keywords: major depressive disorder, melancholic features, CORE measure, endogenous depression, diagnosis, psychomotor retardation