RESEARCH ARTICLE
An Aggravated Trajectory of Depression and Anxiety Co-morbid with Hepatitis C: A Within-groups Study of 61 Australian Outpatients
Benjamin J.R. Stewart1, *, Deborah Turnbull1, Antonina A. Mikocka-Walus2, Hugh Harley4, Jane M. Andrews3, 4
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2015Volume: 11
First Page: 174
Last Page: 179
Publisher ID: CPEMH-11-174
DOI: 10.2174/1745017901511010174
Article History:
Received Date: 3/3/2015Revision Received Date: 29/4/2015
Acceptance Date: 20/5/2015
Electronic publication date: 20/11/2015
Collection year: 2015
open-access license: This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode), which permits unrestricted, noncommercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.
Abstract
Background: This study aimed to explore the course of depression and anxiety in chronic hepatitis C patients. Methods: Data were combined from two studies: (1) Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) scores in 395 consecutive Australian outpatients from 2006 to 2010 formed the baseline measurement; and (2) Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS) scores in a survey of a sub-sample of these patients in 2011 formed the follow-up measurement. After converting DASS to HADS scores, changes in symptom scores and rates of case-ness (≥8), and predictors of follow-up symptoms were assessed. Results: Follow-up data were available for 61 patients (70.5% male) whose age ranged from 24.5 to 74.6 years (M=45.6). The time to follow-up ranged from 20.7 to 61.9 months (M=43.8). Baseline rates of depression (32.8%) and anxiety (44.3%) increased to 62.3% and 67.2%, respectively. These findings were confirmed, independent of the conversion, by comparing baseline HADS and follow-up DASS scores with British community norms. Baseline anxiety and younger age predicted depression, while baseline anxiety, high school non-completion, and single relationship status predicted anxiety. Conclusion: This study demonstrated a worsening trajectory of depression and anxiety. Further controlled and prospective research in a larger sample is required to confirm these findings.
