Yali Zhu,1,* Weijia Yin,2,* Jun Ma,1 Lin Zhang1 

1Department of Psychiatry, Wuhan Mental Health Center, Wuhan, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Psychiatry, Suzhou Guangji Hospital, Suzhou, People’s Republic of China

*These authors contributed equally to this work

Correspondence: Lin Zhang, Department of Psychiatry, Wuhan Mental Health Center, No.89, Gongnongbing Road, Wuhan, Hubei, People’s Republic of China, Email linzhang16@qq.com

Background: Anxious depression (AUD) is a common subtype of major depressive disorder (MDD) and has a significant negative impact on disease progression and patient prognosis. Our study aimed to determine the frequency of AUD in Chinese patients with MDD during their first hospitalization and to identify factors that may influence the emergence and intensity of these AUD.
Methods: This study enrolled 981 Chinese MDD patients on their inaugural hospital admission. Data on demographic details, clinical profiles, and psychological symptoms-such as depression, anxiety, psychosis, and illness severity scores-were gathered and examined.
Results: The study found that 10.30% of the target population exhibited AUD. Compared with the non-AUD group, the AUD group had higher scores on Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD), Positive symptom subscale of the Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PSS), and Clinical Global Impression Scale - Severity of Illness (CGI-SI) and higher levels of fasting blood glucose (FBG), total cholesterol (TC), body mass index (BMI), systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP). In addition, higher scores of HAMD, PSS and CGI-SI were risk factors for increasing the severity of anxiety, higher TC level was contrary.
Conclusion: This study reveals the prevalence of AUD in hospitalized patients with MDD and identifies clinical factors that contribute to the onset and progression of AUD. Reporting these clinical features may help establish potential markers for early recognition and intervention.

Keywords: major depressive disorder, anxious depression, metabolic parameter, clinical characteristic