Conclusions: One in
4 chronic hepatitis
C patients who start
interferon and
ribavirin treatment
will develop an
induced major
depressive episode.
Interferon-Induced
Depression in
Chronic Hepatitis C:
A Systematic Review
and Meta-Analysis
Marc Udina, MD; Pere
Castellví, PhD; José
Moreno-España, MD;
Ricard Navinés, MD,
PhD; Manuel Valdés,
MD, PhD; Xavier
Forns, MD, PhD;
Klaus Langohr, PhD;
Ricard Solà, MD,
PhD; Eduard Vieta,
MD, PhD; and Rocío
Martín-Santos, MD,
PhD
J Clin Psychiatry
2012;73(8):1128-1138
10.4088/JCP.12r07694
Copyright 2012
Physicians
Postgraduate Press,
Inc.
Objective: To carry
out a systematic
review of the risk
factors for, and
incidence of, major
depressive episode (MDE)
related to antiviral
therapy for chronic
hepatitis C.
Data Sources: The
MEDLINE, PsycINFO,
and Cochrane
databases were
searched to locate
articles published
from the earliest
available online
year until June 2011
using the keywords
hepatitis C,
interferon-alpha,peginterferon,
pegylated
interferon,
depression, and mood
and Boolean
operators. Articles
written in English,
Spanish, and French
were included.
Study
Selection:
Prospective studies
reporting incidence
of
interferon-alpha–induced
MDE were included.
At baseline,
patients did not
present a DSM-IV/ICD
depressive episode,
and evaluation was
performed by a
trained clinician.
Twenty-six
observational
studies met the
inclusion criteria.
Data Extraction:
Extracted data
included authors,
year of publication,
design,
characteristics of
the population,
viral coinfection,
adjunctive
psychopharmacology,
instruments to
assess depression,
dose and type of
interferon-alpha,
adjunctive ribavirin
treatment, and
follow-up time.
Outcome of incidence
of MDE (primary
outcome measure) was
abstracted, as were
potential predictive
variables.
Data Synthesis: A
full review was
performed.
Meta-analysis of the
cumulative incidence
of induced MDE as a
function of time was
carried out. Odds
ratios (ORs) and
mean differences
were used to
estimate the
strength of
association of
variables.
Results: Overall
cumulative incidence
of depression was
0.25 (95% CI, 0.16
to 0.35) and 0.28
(95% CI, 0.17 to
0.42) at 24 and 48
weeks of treatment,
respectively.
According to our
analysis, high
baseline levels of
interleukin 6 (mean
difference=1.81; 95%
CI, 1.09 to 2.52),
female gender
(OR=1.40; 95% CI,
1.02 to 1.91),
history of MDE
(OR=3.96; 95% CI,
2.52 to 6.21),
history of
psychiatric disorder
(OR=3.18; 95% CI,
1.60 to 6.32),
subthreshold
depressive symptoms
(mean
difference=0.96; 95%
CI, 0.31 to 1.61),
and low educational
level (mean
difference=−0.99;
95% CI, –1.59 to
−0.39) were
predictive variables
of MDE during
antiviral treatment.
Conclusions: One in
4 chronic hepatitis
C patients who start
interferon and
ribavirin treatment
will develop an
induced major
depressive episode.
Clinicians should
attempt a full
evaluation of
patients before
starting antiviral
treatment in order
to identify those at
risk of developing
interferon-induced
depression.
J Clin Psychiatry
2012;73(8):1128–1138
© Copyright 2012
Physicians
Postgraduate Press,
Inc.
Submitted: February
2, 2012; accepted
March 28, 2012
(doi:10.4088/JCP.12r07694).
Corresponding
author: Rocío Martín-Santos,
MD, PhD, Clinical
Institute of
Neuroscience,
Hospital Clínic,
IDIBAPS, CIBERSAM,
Barcelona,
Catalonia, Spain,
Villarroel, 170,
08036-Barcelona (rmsantos@clinic.ub.es).
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