Abstract

MALYSZCZAK, Krzysztof et al. Impact of interaction between somatic illness and trait neuroticism on depressive symptoms. Eur. J. Psychiat. [online]. 2010, vol.24, n.4, pp.210-219. ISSN 0213-6163.

Background and Objectives: An interaction between neuroticism and burden of illness supports depressive symptoms even at subclinical level. We have assessed its effect in groups of patients with different kind of somatic illness. Methods: Depressive symptoms (SCAN 2.1) and a level of neuroticism (EPQ-R) were assessed in inpatients from 3 different hospital wards, namely the general internal, hematological and infectious wards, and in controls from the general population. Results: A total of 184 adult subjects were examined (45 with haematological malignancies, 46 treated for other, non-malignant internal diseases, 48 with HCV infection before treatment and 45 healthy persons as control). Differences in mean neuroticism scores were not statistically significant (ANOVA, F = 1.44, p = 0.23) whereas differences in mean depression scores were statistically significant (ANOVA, F = 6.34, p < 0.001). Results of ANCOVA for separate-slopes model analysis revealed a statistically significant level of interaction between groups and neuroticism in their influence on depression mean scores (F = 22.9, p < 0.001). The residual effect of the group variable was weak (F = 0.54, p = 0.21). Conclusions: The interaction is a significant factor related to depressive symptoms and can be used in estimating the extent of the psychological impact of a burden of illness.

Keywords : Depression; Neuroticism; Stressful Events; Burden of Illness; Psychological Stress.

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