Abstract

Objective: The aim of the study was to identify clinical variables associated with changes in specific domains of self-reported depression during treatment by antidepressant and/or repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in patients with Major Depressive Disorder.Methods: Data from a trial involving 170 patients with MDD receiving either venlafaxine, rTMS or both were re-analyzed. Depressive symptoms were assessed each week during the 2 to 6 weeks of treatment with the 13-item Beck Depression Inventory. Associations between depression changes on BDI13 domains, treatment arm, time, and clinical variables were tested in a mixed linear model.Results: A significant decrease of self-reported depressive symptoms was observed over time. The main characteristics associated with persistent higher depressive symptomatology on Negative Self-Reference domain of the BDI13 were personality disorders, a past history of suicide attempt, age under 65 years old, and female sex.Conclusions: Early cognitive intervention targeting specifically negative self-referencing process could be considered during pharmacological or rTMS treatment for patients with personality disorders and past history of suicide attempt.