IFMA Preventive Health Management Inc.

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Onset of Improvement in Depressive Patients

In a series of studies of psychiatric patients ascertained shortly after hospital admission, we investigated the time course of recovery from depression by quantifying changes in psychopathology syndrome scores over time and by parallel assessment of speaking behavior and voice sound characteristics.

The Role of Early Improvement

Our analyses yielded no indication of a delayed onset of action of antidepressants. The onset of improvement occurred in the great majority of patients (79.1%) within the first 12 days of treatment. Early improvement was highly predictive of later outcome, since 67.6% of the patients showing improvement within the first 12 days were responders at the end of the observation period. Inversely, 92% of the responders at the end of the observation period exhibited an onset of improvement within the first 12 days. Early improvement could not be attributed to a few HAMD items, because score reductions were observed for virtually all items at early stages of treatment.

Speech Analysis

The analysis of the patients’ speaking behavior and voice sound characteristics yielded, in 62.8% of the cases, an essentially parallel development over time for the HAMD scores on the one hand, and acoustic variables on the other. The time course of improvement thus appeared to have a strong biological component and was unlikely to be attributable to the expectations of doctors and patients.

More to Explore

Moragrega I, Bridler R, Mohr C, Possenti M, Rochat D, Sanchez Parramon J, Stassen HH: Monitoring Mental Health and the Effects of Therapeutic Interventions through Self-Assessment Voice Analyses. Res Psychother. 2021, 24(3): 250-262 [get the article]
Stassen HH, Bachmann S, Bridler R, Cattapan K, Herzig D, Schneeberger A, Seifritz E: Detailing the Effects of Polypharmacy in Psychiatry: Longitudinal Study of 320 Patients Hospitalized for Depression or Schizophrenia. Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2022; 272(4): 603-619 [get the article]
Braun S, Annovazzi C, Botella C, Bridler B, Camussi E, Delfino JP, Mohr C, Moragrega I, Papagno C, Pisoni A, Soler C, Seifritz E, Stassen HH: Assessing Chronic Stress, Coping Skills and Mood Disorders through Speech Analysis. A Self- Assessment “Voice App” for Laptops, Tablets, and Smartphones. Psychopathology 2016; 49(6): 406-419
Mohr C, Braun S, Bridler R, Chmetz F, Delfino JP, Kluckner VJ, Lott P, Schrag Y, Seifritz E, Stassen HH: Insufficient Coping Behavior under Chronic Stress and Vulnerability to Psychiatric Disorders. Psychopathology 2014; 47: 235-243
Stassen HH, Anghelescu IG, Angst J, Böker H, Lötscher K, Rujescu D, Szegedi A, Scharfetter C: Predicting Response to Psychopharmacological Treatment. Survey of Recent Results. Pharmacopsychiatry 2011; 44: 263-272
Stassen HH, Angst J, Hell D, Scharfetter C, Szegedi A: Is there a common resilience mechanism underlying antidepressant drug response? Evidence from 2848 patients. J Clin Psychiatry 2007; 68(8): 1195-1205
vSpacer Time course of recovery from depression under therapy
Time course of recovery from depression under therapy as reflected by Hamilton Depression Scores «HAMD-17» (green square points) and voice sound characteristics (red circle points) from repeated assessments at 2-day intervals along with a final assessment at study end. Recovery from depression and revitalizing of voice sound characteristics occur essentially parallel.
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