Table 1.
Characteristics of melancholic, atypical and anxious subtypes of MDD in the study participants
| Characteristics | Patients with MDD | Healthy participants | P value | ||
| Melancholic | Atypical | Anxious | |||
| n=44 | n=37 | n=44 | n=33 | ||
| Demographic characteristics | |||||
| Age (years), mean (SD) | 27.8 (7.2) | 26.9 (7.1) | 28.2 (7.8) | 27.5 (8.7) | 0.888* |
| Gender, n (%) | |||||
| Female | 29 (65.9) | 21 (56.8) | 30 (68.2) | 19 (57.6) | 0.640† |
| Male | 15 (34.1) | 16 (43.2) | 14 (31.8) | 14 (42.4) | |
| Marital status, n (%) | |||||
| Unmarried | 33 (75.0) | 26 (70.3) | 30 (68.2) | 27 (81.8) | 0.209† |
| Married/cohabitation | 9 (20.5) | 6 (16.2) | 13 (29.5) | 5 (15.2) | |
| Divorced/separated | 2 (4.5) | 5 (13.5) | 1 (2.3) | 1 (3.0) | |
| Career, n (%) | |||||
| Employed | 26 (59.1) | 18 (48.6) | 20 (45.5) | 9 (27.3) | 0.010† |
| Student | 14 (31.8) | 14 (37.8) | 18 (40.9) | 24 (72.7) | |
| Unemployed | 4 (9.1) | 5 (13.5) | 6 (13.6) | 0 (0.0) | |
| Education (years), mean (SD) | 15.6 (1.8) | 14.0 (3.9) | 15.3 (2.4) | 16.2 (2.7) | 0.007* |
| BMI (kg/m2), mean (SD) | 20.5 (3.3) | 20.1 (6.9) | 21.2 (2.8) | 22.2 (3.4) | 0.189* |
| Clinical characteristics | |||||
| 17-HDRS total score, mean (SD) | 23.3 (4.3) | 20.4 (3.1) | 24.5 (4.3) | 0.8 (0.9) | <0.001* |
| Five-factor scores of 17-HDRS, mean (SD) | |||||
| Anxiety/somatisation | 6.7 (2.2) | 6.0 (1.7) | 9.0 (1.5) | 0.3 (0.6) | <0.001‡ |
| Cognitive disturbance | 4.4 (1.4) | 3.9 (1.3) | 4.0 (1.7) | 0.1 (0.1) | <0.001‡ |
| Sleep disturbance | 3.4 (1.8) | 2.8 (1.6) | 3.1 (1.8) | 0.3 (0.5) | <0.001‡ |
| Psychomotor retardation | 7.6 (1.4) | 7.5 (1.6) | 7.6 (1.8) | 0.1 (0.1) | <0.001‡ |
| Weight loss | 0.9 (0.9) | 0.3 (0.6) | 0.6 (0.8) | 0.1 (0.4) | <0.001‡ |
| IDS-30 total score, mean (SD) | 47.3 (10.5) | 40.2 (9.3) | 39.3 (10.1) | / | <0.001* |
| QOL total score, mean (SD) | 15.5 (2.7) | 15.8 (2.3) | 16.3 (2.5) | / | 0.319* |
| QIDS-SR (16) total score, mean (SD) | 21.9 (6.3) | 18.9 (5.5) | 18.2 (5.9) | / | 0.008* |
| First onset, n (%) | 24 (54.5) | 24 (64.9) | 30 (68.2) | / | 0.471† |
| Recrudescence, n (%) | 19 (43.2) | 13 (35.1) | 14 (31.8) | / | |
| Age of first depressive episode, n (%) | 25.2 (8.7) | 24.5 (8.6) | 25.9 (7.6) | / | 0.763* |
| Duration of current episode, mean (SD) | 26.3 (39.7) | 41.1 (128.8) | 26.5 (60.7) | / | 0.664* |
| ≤6 months, n (%) | 14 (31.8) | 13 (35.1) | 17 (38.6) | / | 0.814† |
| 6 to ≤12 months, n (%) | 10 (22.7) | 12 (32.4) | 13 (29.5) | / | |
| 12 to ≤24 months, n (%) | 8 (18.2) | 4 (10.8) | 4 (9.1) | / | |
| 24 to ≤60 months, n (%) | 6 (13.6) | 5 (13.5) | 7 (15.9) | / | |
| 60 to ≤120 months, n (%) | 3 (6.8) | 1 (2.7) | 0 (0.0) | / | |
| >120 months, n (%) | 2 (4.5) | 2 (5.4) | 2 (4.5) | / | |
| NA, n(%) | 1 (2.3) | / | 1 (2.3) | / | |
| Appetite symptoms, n (%) | 0.019† | ||||
| None | 10 (22.7) | 8 (21.6) | 10 (22.7) | / | |
| Decreased | 30 (68.2) | 16 (43.2) | 29 (65.9) | / | |
| Increased | 4 (9.1) | 13 (35.1) | 5 (11.4) | / | |
| Pain symptoms, n (%) | 0.920† | ||||
| None | 14 (31.8) | 13 (35.1) | 15 (34.1) | / | |
| Moderate and mild | 22 (50.0) | 18 (48.6) | 24 (54.5) | / | |
| Severe | 8 (18.2) | 6 (16.2) | 5 (11.4) | / | |
| Gastrointestinal symptoms | 0.932† | ||||
| None | 8 (18.2) | 7 (18.9) | 7 (15.9) | / | |
| Present | 36 (81.8) | 30 (81.1) | 37 (84.1) | / | |
| Follow-up | |||||
| 8-week follow-up, n (%) | 0.080† | ||||
| Remission | 7 (15.9) | 10 (27.0) | 13 (29.5) | / | |
| No remission | 22 (50.0) | 9 (24.3) | 14 (31.8) | / | |
| Dropped out | 15 (34.1) | 18 (48.6) | 17 (38.6) | / | |
| 17-HDRS total score, mean (SD) | 8.7 (4.9) | 9.5 (6.6) | 9.1 (7.3) | / | 0.911* |
| QIDS-SR (16) total score, mean (SD) | 9.4 (6.0) | 9.4 (7.5) | 8.4 (7.6) | / | 0.848* |
| QOL total score, mean (SD) | 20.4 (3.6) | 20.5 (2.9) | 19.4 (3.4) | / | 0.449* |
| 12-week follow-up, n (%) | |||||
| Remission | 10 (22.7) | 5 (13.5) | 13 (29.5) | / | 0.433† |
| No remission | 17 (38.6) | 11 (29.7) | 13 (29.5) | / | |
| Dropped out | 17 (38.6) | 21 (56.8) | 18 (40.9) | / | |
| 17-HDRS total score, mean (SD) | 6.0 (4.3) | 9.2 (6.7) | 8.2 (7.9) | / | 0.2461* |
| QIDS-SR (16) total score, mean (SD) | 6.7 (5.0) | 10.2 (8.9) | 6.4 (5.2) | / | 0.117* |
| QOL total score, mean (SD) | 21.4 (2.5) | 10.8 (3.1) | 20.8 (2.9) | / | 0.193* |
Superscripts represent statistical results analysed by specific statistical methods.
Bold p values indicate <0.05.
The bold values means statistically significant difference.
*One-way analysis of variance.
†χ2 test.
‡Kruskal-Wallis H test.
BMI, body mass index; 17-HDRS, 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale; IDS-30, 30-item Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology, Self-Rated Version; MDD, major depressive disorder; QIDS-SR (16), 16-item Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology–Self-Report; QOL, Quality of Life.