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Anhedonia and cognitive function in adults with MDD: results from the International Mood Disorders Collaborative Project

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 December 2015

Roger S. McIntyre ,
Hanna O. Woldeyohannes ,
Joanna K. Soczynska ,
Nadia A. Maruschak ,
Ida K. Wium-Andersen ,
Maj Vinberg ,
Danielle S. Cha ,
Yena Lee Open the ORCID record for Yena Lee [Opens in a new window] ,
Holly X. Xiao  and
Laura Ashley Gallaugher
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Roger S. McIntyre*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Department of Pharmacology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Mood Disorders Psychopharmacology Unit, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Hanna O. Woldeyohannes
Affiliation:
Mood Disorders Psychopharmacology Unit, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Joanna K. Soczynska
Affiliation:
Mood Disorders Psychopharmacology Unit, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Nadia A. Maruschak
Affiliation:
Mood Disorders Psychopharmacology Unit, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Ida K. Wium-Andersen
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Psychiatric Center, Copenhagen, Denmark
Maj Vinberg
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Psychiatric Center, Copenhagen, Denmark
Danielle S. Cha
Affiliation:
Mood Disorders Psychopharmacology Unit, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Yena Lee
Affiliation:
Mood Disorders Psychopharmacology Unit, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Holly X. Xiao
Affiliation:
Mood Disorders Psychopharmacology Unit, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Laura Ashley Gallaugher
Affiliation:
Mood Disorders Psychopharmacology Unit, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Roman M. Dale
Affiliation:
Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Mohammad T. Alsuwaidan
Affiliation:
Mood Disorders Psychopharmacology Unit, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Rodrigo B. Mansur
Affiliation:
Mood Disorders Psychopharmacology Unit, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
David J. Muzina
Affiliation:
Turn2Health Solutions, Willoughby, Ohio, USA
Andre F. Carvalho
Affiliation:
Translational Psychiatry Research Group and Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Federal University of Ceara, Fortaleza, Brazil
Jeanette M. Jerrell
Affiliation:
Department of Neuropsychiatry, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, South Carolina, USA
Sidney H. Kennedy
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
*
*Address for correspondence: Dr. Roger S. McIntyre, MD, FRCPC, Professor of Psychiatry and Pharmacology, University of Toronto, Head, Mood Disorders Psychopharmacology Unit, University Health Network, 399 Bathurst Street, Toronto, ON, Canada M5T 2S8. (Email: roger.mcintyre@uhn.ca)
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Abstract

Background

Cognitive dysfunction is common in major depressive disorder (MDD) and a critical determinant of health outcome. Anhedonia is a criterion item toward the diagnosis of a major depressive episode (MDE) and a well-characterized domain in MDD. We sought to determine the extent to which variability in self-reported cognitive function correlates with anhedonia.

Method

A post hoc analysis was conducted using data from (N=369) participants with a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR)-defined diagnosis of MDD who were enrolled in the International Mood Disorders Collaborative Project (IMDCP) between January 2008 and July 2013. The IMDCP is a collaborative research platform at the Mood Disorders Psychopharmacology Unit, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada, and the Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio. Measures of cognitive function, anhedonia, and depression severity were analyzed using linear regression equations.

Results

A total of 369 adults with DSM-IV-TR–defined MDD were included in this analysis. Self-rated cognitive impairment [ie, as measured by the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS)] was significantly correlated with a proxy measure of anhedonia (r=0.131, p=0.012). Moreover, total depression symptom severity, as measured by the total Montgomery–Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) score, was also significantly correlated with self-rated measures of cognitive dysfunction (r=0.147, p=0.005). The association between anhedonia and self-rated cognitive dysfunction remained significant after adjusting for illness severity (r=0.162, p=0.007).

Conclusions

These preliminary results provide empirical data for the testable hypothesis that anhedonia and self-reported cognitive function in MDD are correlated yet dissociable domains. The foregoing observation supports the hypothesis of overlapping yet discrete neurobiological substrates for these domains.

Keywords

Anhedoniacognitive impairmentmajor depressive disorder
Type
Opinion
Information
CNS Spectrums , Volume 21 , Issue 5 , October 2016 , pp. 362 - 366
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 2015 

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