Table 2.
Measures of disease severity, fatigue, autonomic nervous system function and cognitive function, with between-group comparisons
| Depression group | Active controls | Healthy controls | Effect of group | Depression v. active controls | Depression v. healthy controls | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kruskal–Wallis | Effect size (95% CI)a | Mann–Whitney | Effect size (95% CI)a | Mann–Whitney | Effect size (95% CI)a | |||||
| Clinical severity (CGI score), n, median (IQR) | 375, 3 (2) | 583, 3 (1) | 217, 1 (0) | H = 313.70 P < 0.01 | 0.26 (0.22–0.30) | U = 102 768, Z = −1.61, P = 0.11 | 0.00 (0.00–0.01) | U = 11 878, Z = 15.13, P < 0.01 | 0.33 (0.27–0.39) | |
| Fatigue (VAS-F score), n, median (IQR) | 739, 60 (53) | 951, 50 (55) | 1650, 24 (46) | H = 278.89 P < 0.01 | 0.09 (0.07–0.11) | U = 299 047, Z = −5.27, P < 0.01 | 0.02 (0.01–0.03) | U = 369 228, Z = −15.45, P < 0.01 | 0.11 (0.09–0.13) | |
| ANS function (COMPASS-31 total weighted score), n, median (IQR) | 740, 30 (24) | 953, 23 (25) | 1652, 10 (17) | H = 635.66 P < 0.01 | 0.20 (0.17–0.22) | U = 243 407, Z = −7.28, P < 0.01 | 0.03 (0.02–0.05) | U = 238 102.5, Z = −21.99, P < 0.01 | 0.23 (0.20–0.26) | |
| Cognitive function (THINC-it) | ||||||||||
| n | 127 | 119 | 253 | |||||||
| PDQ-5, median (IQR) | Total score | 11 (8) | 8 (8) | 4 (4) | H = 129.97, P < 0.01 | 0.26 (0.20–0.32) | U = 6160.5, Z = −3.86, P < 0.01 | 0.06 (0.02–0.12) | U = 6005.5, Z = −10.56, P < 0.01 | 0.33 (0.26–0.40) |
| CRT, median (IQR) | Average reaction time | 754 (474) | 849 (445) | 642 (343) | H = 39.17, P < 0.01 | 0.08 (0.04–0.12) | U = 7414, Z = 1.80, P = 0.07 | 0.02 (0.00–0.05) | U = 13 053.5, Z = −3.83, P < 0.01 | 0.04 (0.01–0.09) |
| Total correct | 36 (8) | 36 (9) | 38 (4) | H = 40.34 P < 0.01 | 0.07 (0.03–0.11) | U = 7680.5, Z = −1.37, P = 0.17 | 0.01 (0.00–0.04) | U = 12 498, Z = 4.45, P < 0.01 | 0.04 (0.01–0.09) | |
| N-back, median (IQR) | Average reaction time | 987 (274) | 1019 (342) | 965 (288) | H = 1.76 P = 0.42 | 0.00 (0.00–0.02) | U = 7475, Z = −0.26, P = 0.79 | 0.00 (0.00–0.02) | U = 15 151, Z = −1.02, P = 0.31 | 0.00 (0.00–0.02) |
| Total correct | 17 (18) | 14 (15) | 22 (19) | H = 44.19 P < 0.01 | 0.09 (0.04–0.13) | U = 7437.5, Z = −1.76, P = 0.08 | 0.01 (0.00–0.05) | U = 12 679.5, Z = −4.23, P < 0.01 | 0.05 (0.01–0.09) | |
| DSST, median (IQR) | Average reaction time | 2343 (1777) | 2838 (2462) | 2085 (906) | H = 57.75, P < 0.01 | 0.07 (0.03–0.11) | U = 6767, Z = −2.77, P < 0.01 | 0.02 (0.00–0.06) | U = 12 468.5, Z = −4.38, P < 0.01 | 0.04 (0.01–0.08) |
| Total correct | 43 (31) | 34 (30) | 52 (25) | H = 57.38, P < 0.01 | 0.11 (0.06–0.16) | U = 6674.5, Z = −3.01, P < 0.01 | 0.04 (0.01–0.09) | U = 12 697, Z = −4.21, P < 0.01 | 0.05 (0.01–0.09) | |
| TMT-B, median (IQR) | Total time | 34 (33) | 44 (51) | 26 (17) | H = 48.85, P < 0.01 | 0.09 (0.04–0.13) | U = 7407.5, Z = −1.81, P = 0.07 | 0.02 (0.00–0.07) | U = 11866, Z = −4.99, P < 0.01 | 0.05 (0.02–0.10) |
| Number of errors | 1 (2) | 1 (3) | 0 (1) | H = 21.36 P < 0.01 | 0.05 (0.02–0.09) | U = 7571.5, Z = −1.61, P = 0.11 | 0.01 (0.00–0.05) | U = 14 528, Z = −2.69, P < 0.01 | 0.03 (0.00–0.07) | |
ANS, autonomic nervous system; CGI, Clinical Global Impression – Severity scale; COMPASS-31, Composite Autonomic Symptom Scale-31; CRT, choice reaction time; DSST, Digit Symbol Substitution Test; PDQ-5, five-item Perceived Deficits Questionnaire; TMT-B, Part B of the Trail Making Test; VAS-F, Visual Analogue Scale for Fatigue.
a.
Eta-squared; effect sizes: small (0.01), medium (0.06) and large (0.14).