Childhood maltreatment and clinical severity of treatment-resistant depression in a French cohort of outpatients (FACE-DR): One-year follow-up

Abstract

Background: Childhood maltreatment is associated with major depressive disorder (MDD). It not only increases the risk of lifetime MDD, but it also aggravates its course. Among depressed patients, 20–30% of them experience treatment-resistance depression (TRD). We aimed to assess the association between childhood maltreatment, severity of depression in a unipolar TRD sample, and patient outcomes after one-year of follow-up. Methods: Patients were recruited for a prospective cohort from the French network of TRD expert centers. Depressive symptom severity was assessed with the Montgomery–Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) and the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology self-report (QIDS-SR). Childhood maltreatment was evaluated with the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). Results: In total, 256 patients filled in the CTQ at baseline between 2012 and 2019. At baseline, the MADRS score was associated with CTQ score (β =.185; p =.004). QIDS was also associated with CTQ scores (β =.27; p