Depression Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Depression, including details on clinical depression, medication, symptoms, treatment, counselling, therapy.

Self-reported depression and anti-depressant medication use in essential tremor: cross-sectional and prospective analyses in a population-based study.

Louis ED, Benito-León J, Bermejo-Pareja F,

G.H. Sergievsky Center, Department of Neurology and Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA. EDL2@columbia.edu

There are few data on the co-morbidity of essential tremor (ET) with depression. To assess the associations of ET with self-reported depression and antidepressant medication use. In a population-based study in central Spain, participants were evaluated at baseline (1994-1995) and 3 years later. Self-reported depression and use of antidepressant medications were evaluated at each assessment. In cross-sectional analyses, prevalent ET cases were twice more probably than controls to report depression [103 (43.8%) of 235 cases versus 1137 (26.0%) of 4379 controls; adjusted odds ratio (OR) 2.20, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.66-2.93, P < 0.001] and three times more probably to be taking antidepressant medications [16 (6.8%) cases versus 113 (2.6%) controls; adjusted OR 3.33, 95% CI 1.91-5.82, P = 0.001]. In prospective analyses, baseline self-reported depression (adjusted RR 1.78, 95% CI 1.11-2.89, P = 0.018) and, perhaps, baseline use of antidepressant medication (adjusted RR 1.90, 95% CI 0.59-6.05, P = 0.28) were associated with incident ET. Rather than being totally benign, ET seems to be associated with a mood disorder. Furthermore, as well as being a secondary response to disease manifestations, this mood disorder may be a primary feature of the underlying disease.

Published 20 September 2007 in Eur J Neurol, 14(10): 1138-46.
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