Anhedonia difference between major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder II

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to explore the difference in anhedonia between Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and Bipolar Disorder II (BD-II), and attempt to distinguish the two diseases through Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale (SHAPS). METHODS: A total of 164 drug-free depressive patients (98 MDD patients, 66 BD-II patients) completed the investigation. 17-item Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD-17) and Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA) and SHAPS were assessed in all participants. RESULTS: Our results showed that BD-II patients had higher SHAPS scores than MDD patients. The stepwise logistic regression analysis further revealed that SHAPS score, drinking habit, and extroversion as influencing factors for the identification of BD-II. The ROC curve analysis indicated that SHAPS could differentiate BD-II from MDD patients (AUC = 0.655, P = 0.001, 95% CI = 0.568 to 0.742), with the best screening cutoff at 26, and the corresponding sensitivity and specificity was 0.788 and 0.520, respectively. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that BD-II patients had more severe anhedonia compared to MDD patients, and the difference in anhedonia may help clinicians preliminary identify BD patients from MDD patients. The preliminary findings are worthly of further exploration. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12888-021-03548-w.