Association between Painful Physical Symptoms and Clinical Outcomes in Korean Patients with Major Depressive Disorder: A Three-Month Observational Study

OBJECTIVE: This paper aims to examine the association between painful physical symptoms (PPS) and major depressive disorder (MDD) in a naturalistic clinical practice setting within a Korean population. METHODS: Patients with acute MDD that joined a multicountry, observational, three-month study in six Asian countries and regions were classified as PPS+ (mean score ≥2) and PPS- (mean score <2) using the modified Somatic Symptom Inventory. In this analysis, we report the results from the Korean subset, where depression severity was assessed using the Clinical Global Impression of Severity (CGI-S) scale and 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD(17)). Pain severity was measured using a visual analogue scale (VAS), while the EuroQoL (EQ-5D) assessed patient well-being. RESULTS: Of 198 patients, 45.96% (91/198) of patients were classified as PPS+, of which 78.02% (71/91) were women. PPS+ patients had significantly more severe depression at baseline {CGI-S score, mean [standard deviation (SD)], PPS+: 5.09 [0.79]; PPS-: 4.63 [0.76]; p<0.001; HAMD(17) total score, mean [SD], PPS+: 24.34 [5.24]; PPS-: 20.76 [5.12]; p<0.001} and poorer quality of life [EQ-5D overall health state, mean (SD), PPS+: 39.37 (20.52); PPS-: 51.27 [20.78]; p<0.001] than PPS- patients. Both groups improved significantly (p<0.001) in depression and pain severity outcomes, as well as quality of life by endpoint, but no significant within-group baseline-to-endpoint change wase observed. CONCLUSION: The frequency of PPS was common in Korean patients with MDD, and was associated with more severe depression, poorer quality of life, and a trend towards poorer clinical outcome.