TY - JOUR

T1 - Rumination in patients with major depressive disorder before and after antidepressant treatment

AU - Segerberg, Tina S.S.

AU - Ozenne, Brice

AU - Dam, Vibeke H.

AU - Köhler-Forsberg, Kristin

AU - Jørgensen, Martin B.

AU - Frokjaer, Vibe G.

AU - Knudsen, Gitte M.

AU - Stenbæk, Dea S.

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2024 The Authors

PY - 2024

Y1 - 2024

N2 - Background: Rumination is a maladaptive response to distress characteristic of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). It is unclear to what degree rumination is associated with depression severity prior to treatment and how it responds to antidepressant treatment. Therefore, we evaluated the association between rumination and depression severity in 92 untreated patients with MDD and explored the changes in rumination after initiation of antidepressant medication. Method: We measured rumination using the Rumination Response Scale (RRS) and depression severity with the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS17 or HDRS6) before and after initiation of 12 weeks of antidepressant treatment. The association between RRS and pre-treatment HDRS17 was evaluated using a linear regression model. RRS at week 4, 8, and 12 across treatment response categories (remission vs. non-response) were evaluated using a mixed effect model. Results: RRS was positively associated with depression severity prior to treatment at a trend level (p = 0.06). After initiation of treatment RRS decreased significantly (p < 0.0001) and remitters exhibited lower rumination compared to non-responders at week 4 (p = 0.03), 8 (p = 0.01), and 12 (p = 0.007). Limitations: The study had no placebo group. Conclusions: Although pre-treatment rumination did not significantly associate with depressive symptoms, rumination was closely connected to change in depressive symptoms. Tormented patients could be reassured that rumination symptoms may be alleviated over the course of antidepressant treatment.

AB - Background: Rumination is a maladaptive response to distress characteristic of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). It is unclear to what degree rumination is associated with depression severity prior to treatment and how it responds to antidepressant treatment. Therefore, we evaluated the association between rumination and depression severity in 92 untreated patients with MDD and explored the changes in rumination after initiation of antidepressant medication. Method: We measured rumination using the Rumination Response Scale (RRS) and depression severity with the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS17 or HDRS6) before and after initiation of 12 weeks of antidepressant treatment. The association between RRS and pre-treatment HDRS17 was evaluated using a linear regression model. RRS at week 4, 8, and 12 across treatment response categories (remission vs. non-response) were evaluated using a mixed effect model. Results: RRS was positively associated with depression severity prior to treatment at a trend level (p = 0.06). After initiation of treatment RRS decreased significantly (p < 0.0001) and remitters exhibited lower rumination compared to non-responders at week 4 (p = 0.03), 8 (p = 0.01), and 12 (p = 0.007). Limitations: The study had no placebo group. Conclusions: Although pre-treatment rumination did not significantly associate with depressive symptoms, rumination was closely connected to change in depressive symptoms. Tormented patients could be reassured that rumination symptoms may be alleviated over the course of antidepressant treatment.

KW - Antidepressant treatment

KW - Cognition

KW - Emotion regulation

KW - Major depressive disorder

KW - Rumination

KW - Selective serotonin receptor inhibitor

U2 - 10.1016/j.jad.2024.05.135

DO - 10.1016/j.jad.2024.05.135

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 38810785

AN - SCOPUS:85194856359

VL - 360

SP - 322

EP - 325

JO - Journal of Affective Disorders

JF - Journal of Affective Disorders

SN - 0165-0327

ER -