Treatment of depression for patients with multiple sclerosis in neurology clinics.

Abstract

UNLABELLED:

The objective of this study was to examine the adequacy of antidepressant pharmacotherapy in a sample of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) treated by neurologists.

METHODS:

MS patients under the care of neurologists were recruited from a large health maintenance organization. Major depressive disorder (MDD) was diagnosed using a structured telephone interview. Antidepressant treatment data were obtained from the HMO pharmacy database.

RESULTS:

Study participants included 260 patients with MS treated by 35 neurologists. A total of 67 (25.8%) patients met the criteria for MDD. Among the patients with MDD, 65.6% received no antidepressant medication, 4.7% received subthreshold doses from their neurologists, 26.6% received doses at threshold, and 3.1% received doses exceeding threshold.

DISCUSSION:

Depression was undertreated by the neurologists treating this sample of patients with comorbid MS and MDD. Potential solutions are discussed.

• Authors: D C Mohr, S L Hart, I Fonareva, E S Tasch
• Journal: Multiple sclerosis (Houndmills, Basingstoke, England) (Mult Scler) Vol. 12 Issue 2 Pg. 204-8 (Apr 2006) ISSN: 1352-4585 [Print] England
• PMID: 16629424 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Multicenter Study, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural)

Chemical References

• Antidepressive Agents

Topics

• Adult
• Aged
• Antidepressive Agents (therapeutic use)
• Depression (drug therapy, epidemiology, therapy)
• Depressive Disorder (drug therapy, epidemiology, therapy)
• Female
• Hospital Departments
• Humans
• Interviews as Topic
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Multiple Sclerosis (psychology)
• Neurology