Belief Update: The Effects of Depression and Antidepressants in Older People

Summary

People in good health do not perceive the future in the same way as those suffering from depression. This difference in perception affects behaviour and emotions and warrants further investigation, both before and after treatment with antidepressants. Research shows that past negative experiences with medication can reduce the effectiveness of treatment, whilst positive expectations can increase it. It is important to gain a better understanding of how antidepressants influence the way in which elderly people with major depressive disorder (MDD) change their beliefs, and to determine whether an improvement in their depressive symptoms is linked to these changes in their beliefs. This study aims to understand whether antidepressants can alter the way people view the future and whether this contributes to their effectiveness. It also seeks to determine whether patients' expectations regarding treatment influence clinical outcomes, and whether changes in their mood may in turn affect these expectations. The study will involve 31 patients aged 65 and over who are suffering from a depressive disorder and require a change of antidepressant, and 31 healthy subjects, also aged 65 and over. The participants' involvement will last for 12 weeks.

During a medical consultation, once the doctor has checked that the participant meet all the study's eligibility criteria, they will ask for the participant consent to take part in the study. The participant will then be asked to answer one question about what you hope to gain from the new antidepressant treatment that the doctor will prescribe for the participant. Finally, the participant will carry out a belief-updating exercise, which involves : presenting the participant with a series of events and ask them to indicate how likely they think each of them is to occur, and then. Once they have received further information about these events, ask them to reassess the likelihood of them occurring. This task will be carried out again 12 weeks after the participant start taking their antidepressant, during a consultation required as part of their individual care plan. From the first week of antidepressant treatment until week 12, the participant will be contacted by telephone once a week to answer two short questions about their expectations regarding the treatment and any changes in your mood.

Conditions

• Major Depressive Episode (MDE)
• Beliefs
• Beliefs About Future
• Depression

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Response to questionnaire

The patients are assessed using the MADRS score upopn inclusion (after the wash-out, before the new treatment) and 12 weeks later, after the treatment. The patient are also assessed by looking at the overall changes in atitude, the first time upon inclusion and after every week until the end of the treatment 12 weeks later.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Hospital Center Guillaume Régnier

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

NON_RANDOMIZED

Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

NONE

Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age

65 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2025-01-14

Primary Completion

2027-10-31

Completion

2027-10-31

Countries

• France

Study Locations