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Objectives: To describe health-related quality of life (HRQoL), pain, clinical outcomes and treatment patterns in French patients with depression treated by general practitioners and psychiatrists., Methods: Factors Influencing Depression Endpoints Research (FINDER) is a European longitudinal observational, naturalistic, multicentre study to determine the HRQoL (SF-36 and EQ-5D) and to assess outcomes of depression and anxiety (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale [HADS]), and pain (VAS) in a population of depressed patients initiating antidepressant treatment. Clinical diagnosis of depression was based on physician's clinical judgment. Physicians decided at their own discretion and clinical practice to initiate pharmacological treatment for depression. Adult patients with a first or new episode of depression were enrolled between May 2004 and September 2005, and followed up for 6 months. Across Europe, 437 physicians observed 3468 patients., Results: In France, 606 patients (approximately 17% of the whole sample) were enrolled by 57 psychiatrists and 46 general practitioners. These patients were (mean ± SD) 45.6 ± 13.0 years old, 69% female and 39% having had a previous depressive episode in the last 2 years. According to the patient-rated HADS score greater or equal to 11, most patients (75%) were classified as cases of depression as well as cases of anxiety (84%); 51% of patients rated their overall pain severity (based on VAS cut-off of 30 mm) as moderate/severe, with 65% of these patients reporting no medical explanation for their pain. The majority (81%) of the patients were prescribed selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI). During the 6-month follow-up, the majority of the patients (73%) remained on the same antidepressant at the same dose during the course of treatment. Between baseline and 6-month endpoint, French patients improved their mean scores (SD) on the SF-36 physical score by+3.5 (9.0) (P<0.001) and mental score by+20.6 (14.2) (P<0.001); on the EQ-5D Health State Index by+0.37 (0.32) (P<0.001) and the EQ-5D VAS by+32.3 (25.0) (P<0.001); on the HADS depression score by-8.1 (6.0) (P<0.001) and HADS anxiety score by-6.9 (5.0) (P<0.001). Patients with moderate/severe pain at baseline improved their overall pain on a mean VAS score by-34.1 (28.7) (P<0.001)., Conclusions: More than half of the French patients enrolled in the study experienced pain associated with depression. During follow-up, patients improved all of their outcome measurements (physical and mental SF-36 scores, depression and anxiety HADS scores, pain VAS, EQ-5D Health State Index and VAS) and most patients remained on the same antidepressant at the same dose., (Copyright © 2012 L’Encéphale, Paris. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Background: Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) data in depression are limited. We studied the impact of antidepressant (AD) treatment on HRQoL outcomes in depressed patients and investigated factors associated with these outcomes in routine practice settings., Methods: The Factors Influencing Depression Endpoints Research (FINDER) study was a 6-month, European, prospective, observational study, designed to estimate HRQoL in 3468 adult patients with a clinically diagnosed episode of depression at baseline and at 3 and 6-months after commencing AD treatment. HRQoL was assessed by the Medical Outcome Short-Form (36) Health Survey (SF-36) and European Quality of Life-5 Dimensions (EQ-5D). Regression analysis identified baseline and treatment variables independently and significantly associated with HRQoL outcomes., Results: Most HRQoL improvement occurred within 3 months of starting treatment. Better HRQoL outcomes were strongly associated with fewer somatic symptoms at baseline, AD treatment taken and not switching within AD groups. Education and occupational status were also important. Depression variables (number of previous depressions and current episode duration) were consistently associated with worse HRQoL outcomes. Self-rated depression severity was associated with poorer outcomes on the SF-36 mental component only., Limitations: As this was an observational study, the important finding that between and within AD group switching impacted HRQoL will need to be investigated in more controlled settings., Conclusions: Receiving an AD treatment was associated with large improvements in HRQoL, but switching within AD groups was consistently associated with poorer outcomes. Somatic symptoms, including painful symptoms, are often present in depressed patients and appear to negatively impact HRQoL outcomes.

Factors influencing outcomes of depression in clinical practice, especially health-related quality of life (HRQoL), are poorly understood. The Factors Influencing Depression Endpoints Research (FINDER) study is a European prospective, observational study designed to estimate the HRQoL of adults with a clinically diagnosed depressive episode at baseline, and 3 and 6 months after commencing antidepressant medication. We report here the study design and baseline patient characteristics. HRQoL was assessed by the 36-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) and European Quality of Life-5 Dimensions (EQ-5D). Patient ratings on Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and pain Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) were also obtained. Results (n=3468) showed that SF-36 mental component summary (mean 22.2) was more than two SDs below general population norms (mean 50.0) and one SD below clinical depression norms (mean 34.8); the physical component summary (mean 46.1) was similar to general population (mean 50.0) and clinical depression norms (mean 45.0). Mean EQ-5D scores were also lower than general population norms. Mean HADS-Depression and -Anxiety subscores were 12.3 and 13.0, respectively. Fifty-six percent of patients reported an overall pain VAS score of at least 30mm and 70% of these patients had no physical explanation for their pain. Further investigation into factors associated with HRQoL in depression after treatment initiation is warranted.

Objectives: to describe the impact of pain on quality of life (QoL) in patients with depression Methods: FINDER was a 6-month, european observational study to assess outcomes of QoL (SF36, EQ-5D), depression and anxiety (HADS), somatic (SSI) and pain (VAS) in a clinically diagnosed population initiating antidepressants. Results: 606 patients enrolled in France by 57 psychiatrists and 46 general practitioners were 45.6±13.0 years old, 69% female and 39% have had a previous episode in the last 2 years. According to the patient rated HADS score greater than 11, 75% of patients were classified as cases for depression and 84% as cases for anxiety. 51% of patients rated their overall pain severity (based on VAS cut-off of 30) as moderate/severe, with 65% of them reporting no medical explanation for their pain. During the 6-month follow-up, French patients improved on SF36 physical score (46.8±10.4 to 50.2±8.3) and mental score (20.2±8.6 to 40.5±12.3), EQ-5D Health State Index (0.38±0.28 to 0.75±0.27) and EQ-5D VAS (39.9±20.0 to 71.4±20.3). Patients with moderate/severe pain at baseline and patients defined as cases for depression or anxiety at baseline had poorer QoL scores on SF36 physical score, EQ-5D Health State Index, EQ-5D VAS and HADS both at baseline and over the 6 months of since treatment started. Conclusions: Over half of French patients of this study experienced pain associated with depression. We observed that patients experiencing a moderate/severe pain at baseline had worse outcomes on QoL and depression response than those with mild or not pain at baseline. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Background: Patients with depression often experience pain. There is limited understanding of the relation between pain and other symptoms (depressive, anxious and non-painful somatic symptoms). This exploratory study assesses pain severity and interference of pain with functioning in a clinically depressed population and investigates the relation between the different groups of symptoms. Methods: FINDER was a 6-month prospective, observational study investigating health-related quality of life of outpatients with depression initiating antidepressant treatment. Patients completed ratings on the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Somatic Symptom Inventory (SSI-28), and overall pain severity and interference of pain with functioning using Visual Analogue Scales (VAS) at baseline and at 3 and 6months. Regression analyses identified factors associated with overall pain severity and interference of pain with functioning, at baseline and over the observation period. Results: Of 3468 eligible patients at baseline, 56.3% experienced moderate to severe pain and 53.6% had moderate to severe pain-related interference with functioning. At 6months of follow-up, these proportions decreased to 32.5% and 28.1%, respectively. Higher baseline SSI-somatic scores (non-painful) were strongly associated with greater pain severity and greater pain-related interference with functioning at baseline and over 6months. Certain socio-demographic (increasing age, being unemployed) and depression-related factors (more previous episodes, longer duration of current episode) were also significantly associated with greater pain severity and interference over 6months, while higher baseline severity of depression (HADS-D) and further education were associated with less severe pain or pain-related interference with functioning over 6months. Conclusions: Over half of depressed patients in this study experienced moderate to severe pain. Painful somatic symptoms appear to be closely related to non-painful somatic symptoms, more than to depressive or anxious symptoms suggesting that painful and non-painful somatic symptoms can be considered as one group of ‘somatic symptoms,’ all of them associated with depressive and anxious symptoms. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]