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Anxiety and anhedonia in depression: Associations with neuroticism and cognitive control
- Source :
- J Affect Disord
- Publication Year :
- 2019
- Publisher :
- Elsevier BV, 2019.
-
Abstract
- BACKGROUND: Despite the fact that higher levels of anxiety and anhedonia in Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) are linked to poorer treatment outcomes, mechanisms contributing to these clinical presentations remain unclear. Neuroticism, impaired cognitive control, and blunted reward learning may be critical processes involved in MDD and may help to explain symptoms of anxiety and anhedonia. METHODS: Using baseline data from patients with early-onset MDD (N=296) in the Establishing Moderators and Biosignatures of Antidepressant Response in Clinical Care (EMBARC) trial, we conducted a path analysis to model relationships between neuroticism, cognitive control, and reward learning to levels of anxiety and anhedonia. RESULTS: Neuroticism was positively associated with both anhedonia (standardized coefficient = 0.26, p < .001) and anxiety (standardized coefficient = 0.40, p < .001). Cognitive control was negatively associated with anxiety (standardized coefficient = −0.18, p < .05). Reward learning was not significantly associated with either anxiety or anhedonia. LIMITATIONS: Extraneous variables not included in the model may have even more influence in explaining symptoms of anxiety and anhedonia. Restricted range in these variables may have attenuated some of the hypothesized relationships. Most important, because this was a cross-sectional analysis in a currently depressed sample, we cannot draw any causal conclusions without experimental and longitudinal data. CONCLUSIONS: These cross-sectional findings suggest that neuroticism may contribute to anxiety and anhedonia in patients with early onset and either chronic or recurrent MDD, while enhanced cognitive control may protect against anxiety.
- Subjects :
- Adult
Male
Anhedonia
behavioral disciplines and activities
Article
03 medical and health sciences
Cognition
0302 clinical medicine
Reward
Restricted range
mental disorders
medicine
Humans
Learning
Path analysis (statistics)
Neuroticism
Depressive Disorder, Major
Middle Aged
medicine.disease
Anxiety Disorders
Antidepressive Agents
030227 psychiatry
Psychiatry and Mental health
Clinical Psychology
Cross-Sectional Studies
Treatment Outcome
Major depressive disorder
Anxiety
Antidepressant
Female
medicine.symptom
Psychology
psychological phenomena and processes
030217 neurology & neurosurgery
Clinical psychology
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 01650327
- Volume :
- 245
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Journal of Affective Disorders
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....a2a719a7fe750b00f7d0cb51cb2b797f