OBJECTIVES:

The objective of the current study was to examine the health-related quality (HRQoL) of life-Mental Component Summary(MCS) associated with depression treatment among adults with COPD and depression.

METHODS:

A retrospective longitudinal study was conducted pooling data from 2009 to 2014 Medical Expenditure Survey. The study population was composed of adults with co-existing COPD and depression. By receipt of antidepressant and psychotherapy, patients were grouped into three treatment groups: antidepressants only, psychotherapy only, and no treatment. Chi-square test and linear regression were used to examine demographic, social-economic and health status variables associated with depression treatments. Ordinary least squares regression was used to test the association between MCS and treatments.

RESULTS:

More than half of the individuals reported using only antidepressants (55.95%); 27.34% reported receiving psychotherapy with or without antidepressants and 16.71% reported receiving neither antidepressants nor psychotherapy. Before treatment, psychotherapy group had the lowest MCS compared with the other two groups. Both the baseline MCS and follow-up MCS were significantly different among treatment categories (baseline MCS: p=0.0007, follow-up MCS: p=0.0295). After adjusting for demographic variables, socio-economic variables and baseline MCS, there was no association between depression treatments and follow-up MCS.

CONCLUSIONS:

After adjusting for a comprehensive list of factors that may affect both baseline and follow-up MCS, the current study did not find any statistical significant associations between depression treatments and MCS measures among adults with COPD and depression.