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The relation between observer-rated depressive symptoms and patient-rated quality of life after six weeks of antidepressant treatment: pooled patient-level analysis of mirtazapine trials

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 June 2026

Helena Werin Sjögren
Affiliation:
Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
Evana López
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
Alexander Lisinski
Affiliation:
Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
Mikael Landén
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, University of Gothenburg, Sweden Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
Johan Lundberg
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
Fredrik Hieronymus*
Affiliation:
Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, University of Gothenburg, Sweden Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Denmark
*
Correspondence: Fredrik Hieronymus. Email: fredrik.hieronymus@neuro.gu.se
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Abstract

Background

The primary effect parameter in depression trials is usually a measure of depressive symptoms, e.g. the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS). Such measures have been criticised for not covering patient-relevant domains, such as quality of life, and hence not accurately reflecting patient-experienced efficacy.

Aims

To investigate the relation between clinician-rated depressive symptoms and patient-reported quality of life measured by the Quality-of-Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire Short Form (Q-LES-Q-SF).

Method

We included data from six acute-phase trials (n = 918) comparing mirtazapine to another antidepressant (amitriptyline, fluoxetine, paroxetine or venlafaxine) where both HDRS and Q-LES-Q-SF had been administered. No study included a placebo arm. Correlations between instruments (scales, subscales and items) were assessed after six weeks. Q-LES-Q-SF outcomes for participants who were in HDRS-defined remission were contrasted to those from participants with more severe depressive symptoms.

Results

Q-LES-Q-SF ratings correlated strongly with HDRS-17 (r = −0.73, p < 0.0001) and HDRS-6 (r = −0.72, p < 0.0001), but somewhat weaker to HDRS-11 (r = −0.64, p < 0.0001). Depressed mood (r = −0.66, p < 0.0001) and work and activities (r = −0.65, p < 0.0001) showed the strongest item-level correlations to Q-LES-Q-SF. Participants in HDRS-remission had average Q-LES-Q-SF scores on the lower end of those reported by healthy controls, whereas patients with mild depressive symptoms (or worse) had average life-quality scores corresponding to severe impairment.

Conclusions

HDRS and Q-LES-Q-SF showed considerable agreement in depressed study participants treated with antidepressants, suggesting that HDRS meaningfully reflects patient-reported improvement.

Information

Type
Paper
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2026. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Royal College of Psychiatrists
Figure 0

Table 1 Included studies

Figure 1

Fig. 1 Q-LES-Q scores mapped to depression severity categories at end-point. The red field corresponds to Q-LES-Q scores −2 s.d. or lower than the community average, the blue field corresponds to −1 to −2 s.d., and the green field corresponds to scores above −1 s.d. Individual patients are shown on the scatterplot, with intensity corresponding to the number of observations. Means ± 1 s.d. Q-LES-Q-SF scores for the five HDRS subgroups are overlayed on a LOESS regression of Q-LES-Q-SF on HDRS-17. Q-LES-Q, Quality-of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire; Q-LES-Q-SF, Quality-of-Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire Short Form; HDRS, Hamilton Depression Rating Scale; LOESS, locally estimated scatterplot smoothing.

Figure 2

Fig. 2 Relation between individual Q-LES-Q items and HDRS-17 symptom severity at end-point. Individual patients are shown on the scatterplot, with intensity corresponding to the number of observations. Means ± 1 s.d. Q-LES-Q item scores for the five HDRS subgroups are overlayed on a LOESS regression of Q-LES-Q item score over the HDRS-17 score. Q-LES-Q, Quality-of-Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire; HDRS, Hamilton Depression Rating Scale; LOESS, locally estimated scatterplot smoothing.

Figure 3

Table 2 Correlations between HDRS-17 items and Q-LES-Q scores at end-point

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