Physical comorbidity and its impact on symptom profile of depression in Indian setting 2 (COSPO-DEP-2 study)

Abstract
Background: The objective of the study was to determine the symptom profile and prevalence of comorbidities and to understand the prescription patterns of antidepressants among depression patients in India.Methods: The real-world, retrospective, observational COSPO-DEP-2 study was conducted at various centres across India between April 2021 and March 2022.Results: Data of 7288 patients with depression was analyzed. The mean (SD) age of the patients was 45.1 (11.9) years. Majority of the patients were males (54.2%) and literate (92.7%); 53.1% were unemployed; 14.5% were unmarried and other 8.8% patients were divorced or separated. Almost equal proportion of patients were from urban and rural areas. A family history of psychiatric disorder was present in 14.9% patients. More than half (57.3%) of the patients presented with first episode of depression. Mild depression was present in 38.87% patients, moderate depression in 38.06% patients and severe depression in 23.07% patients. Diabetes was the most common comorbid condition (31.5%) followed by hypertension (26.6%), migraine (24.6%), and chronic pain (16.6%). Majority (54%) of patients were prescribed combination of pharmacotherapy with psychotherapy. The most commonly prescribed drug for depression management was escitalopram (57.5%) followed by benzodiazepines (38.7%). Escitalopram was also the most commonly prescribed drug in patients with depression having comorbidities.Conclusions: Depression is common among both genders and more commonly seen among unemployed people and in those with family history of depression. The commonly reported comorbidities include diabetes, hypertension, migraine and chronic pain. Escitalopram is the most commonly used agent followed by benzodiazepines among patients of depression with or without comorbidities.