Citation

Richard-Devantoy S, Berlim MT, Garel N, Inja A, Turecki G. J. Affect. Disord. 2024; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2024, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.jad.2024.05.111

PMID

38823590

Abstract

BACKGROUND: A more in-depth understanding of the relationship between depressive symptoms, neurocognition and suicidal behavior could provide insights into the prognosis and treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD) and suicide. We conducted a network analysis among depressed patients examining associations between history of suicide attempt (HSA), core emotional major depression disorder, and key neurocognitive domains.

METHOD: Depressed patients (n = 120) aged 18-65 years were recruited from a larger randomized clinical trial conducted at the Douglas Institute in Montreal, Canada. They were randomly assigned to receive one of two antidepressant treatments (i.e., escitalopram or desvenlafaxine) for 8 weeks. Core emotional MDD and key neurocognitive domains were assessed pre-post treatment.

RESULTS: At baseline, an association between history of suicide attempt (HSA) and phonemic verbal fluency (PVF) suggested that HSA patients reported lower levels of the latter. After 8 weeks of antidepressant treatment, HSA became conditionally independent from PVF. Similar results were found for both the HAM-D and the QIDS-SR core emotional MDD/neurocognitive networks.

CONCLUSION: Network analysis revealed a pre-treatment relationship between a HSA and decreased phonemic VF among depressed patients, which was no longer present after 8 weeks of antidepressant treatment.

Language: en

Keywords

Depression; Cognition; Suicide attempt; Network analysis; Verbal fluency