Fatigue in major depression: The role of anxiety and somatisation

Abstract

Objective:

Fatigue in patients with major depression is understudied, although highly prominent. The objective of this ongoing study is to search for parameters correlating with the severity of reported fatigue along a major depressive episode.

Methods:

We present preliminary findings regarding 58 currently depressed patients (47 females, 11 males) with a diagnosis of major depressive disorder. Patients' age ranged from 24 to 65 years old (49.8±10.2). Patients suffering from physical diseases or other conditions associated with prominent fatigue were excluded. The severity of fatigue during the last two weeks prior to assessment was recorded with the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS), the Fatigue Questionnaire (FQ), a visual analogue scale (VAS) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) item 17. The vitality subscale of the 36-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) was also administered. Fatigue ratings were correlated with measures of depression severity (BDI and 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, HDRS17), anxiety (State/ Trait Anxiety Inventory, STAI) and somatization (the somatization subscale of the Symptom Checklist 90-Revised, SCL90-R).

Results:

Fatigue severity, as measured with FQ and VAS correlated positively to a significant degree with state anxiety (r=0.276, p=0.04 and r=0.356, p=0.007, respectively) while vitality correlated negatively with trait anxiety (r=-0.312, p=0.02). Correlations remained significant after depression severity was controlled for. All fatigue and vitality measures correlated strongly with somatisation scores, even after controlling for depression severity, state or trait anxiety.

Conclusions:

The preliminary results of this ongoing study indicate that the severity of fatigue in major depression correlates with state / trait anxiety and somatisation.