Original scientific paper

DEPRESSIVE PHENOMENOLOGY IN REGARD TO DEPERSONALIZATION LEVEL

Olivera Žikić ; Medical Faculty, University of Niš, Serbia
Snežana Ćirić ; Medical Faculty, University of Niš, Serbia
Marija Mitković ; The Institute of Mental Health, Belgrade, Serbia

Abstract

Background: It has been found that in patients suffering from unipolar depression, associated depersonalization symptomatology is more intense compared to healthy controls, and also that there is a positive correlation between depression and depersonalization. According to data that may be found in the literature, there
is a relatively high prevalence of depersonalization symptomatology in unipolar depressions. Our study was aimed at finding whether the presence of depersonalization was related to a specific phenomenological expression of depressive symptomatology in unipolar depression.
Subjects and methods: The study included 84 subjects suffering from unipolar depression without psychotic features. Based on the Cambridge Depersonalization Scale (CDS) score, the subjects were divided into two groups – a group with associated depersonalization (CDS≥70) (40 subjects) and a group with subsyndromal depersonalization (CDS<70) (44 subjects), the later one being treated as a control group. The groups were compared in regard to the intensity of depressive symptomatology, depressive symptoms frequency and the depressive symptoms duration. The General Socio-Demographic Questionnaire, the Cambridge
Depersonalization Scale and The Patient Health Questionnaire – 9 were used.
Results: The depressive patients with depersonalization had predominantly severe episodes, almost all patients had feelings of sadness, insomnia, and decrease of energetic potentials. The biggest difference between the groups, in terms of greater number of manifest symptoms in the patients with depersonalization, was for
psychomotor disturbances (agitation or retardation), insomnia, decrease of energetic potentials and concentration. At the same time, 75% of the subjects with associated depersonalization had anhedonia, sadness/dysphoria, insomnia and decrease of energetic potentials continuously present. Unlike this group, the control
group subjects experienced sadness, appetite problems, concentration and motor behavior changes almost half as frequently. Particularly significant were the differences regarding suicidal thoughts. It was shown that in the group with depersonalization there was a higher percentage of patients with suicidal thoughts,
mostly continuously present, which represent a significant suicidal risk factor.
Conclusion: Unipolar depression, associated with depersonalization is more severe in its intensity .It has a bigger number of manifest symptoms which have a tendency to continuous duration. A special focus is on the negative impact on the occurrence and lasting presence of suicidal thoughts.

Keywords

unipolar depression; depersonalization; anhedonia; sleep; suicidality; symptom

Hrčak ID:

49216

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/49216

Publication date:

25.6.2009.

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