Key result
Depressed patients lack circadian mood rhythms and panic disorder patients lack chaotic variability versus controls.
Why the study?
Do dynamic patterns of hourly mood variation differ among patients with major depressive disorder, panic disorder, and normal controls?
Observational (n=15)
No
Do dynamic patterns of hourly mood variation differ among patients with major depressive disorder, panic disorder, and normal controls?
p-value: p=0.029
Patients with major depressive disorder or panic disorder exhibit different dynamic patterns of mood variability compared to healthy controls, suggesting potential clinical utility in monitoring mood dynamics.
Mood dynamics monitoring may differentiate depression and panic from controls; hypothesis-generating, requires prospective validation before any clinical use.
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this pilot study was to compare the dynamic patterns of hourly mood variation among newly diagnosed primary care patients with major depressive disorder or panic disorder with patterns in patients with neither disorder. METHOD: Five adult patients with major depressive episode, 5 with panic disorder, and 5 with neither disorder were asked to complete hourly self-assessments of anxiety and depression (using 100-mm visual analog scales) for each hour they were awake during a 30-day period. Time series were analyzed using ARIMA (autoregression, integration, moving average) modeling (to assess periodicity), Lyapunov exponents (to assess sensitivity to initial conditions indicative of chaotic patterns), and correlation dimension saturation (to assess whether an attractor is limiting change). The study was conducted from March to June 2003. RESULTS: Controls displayed circadian rhythms with underlying chaotic variability. Depressed patients did not display circadian rhythm, but did show chaotic dynamics. Panic disorder patients showed circadian rhythms, but 2 of the 4 patients completing the self-assessments displayed nonchaotic underlying patterns. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with major depressive disorder or panic disorder may differ from controls and from each other in their patterns of mood variability. There is a need for more research on the dynamics of mood among patients with mental disorders.
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Katerndahl et al. (2007) conducted an observational in Major depressive disorder or panic disorder (n=15). Major depressive disorder or panic disorder vs. Normal controls was evaluated on Dynamic patterns of hourly mood variation (assessed via ARIMA, Lyapunov exponents, and correlation dimension saturation) (p=0.029). Controls displayed circadian rhythms with underlying chaotic variability, whereas depressed patients lacked circadian rhythm and panic disorder patients often lacked chaotic underlying patterns.
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