Investigation of emotional blunting and antidepressants in patients with major depressive disorder
ZHANG Yuyu
LIU Nian
LYU Runxin
ZHANG Yaochi
TANG Nailong
LIU Min
CAI Min
WANG Huaning
Abstract：Objective To observe the effects of pharmacological interventions on emotional blunting,and to explore the effect of the type and duration of taking antidepressants on emotional blunting in patients with major depressive disorder(MDD).Methods From February to November 2023,255 patients with MDD(including those who did not take medication within two weeks or continued to take antidepressants during follow-up visits)admitted to the Department of Psychosomatic Medicine,Xijing Hospital,Air Force Medical University were selected as the study objects.The Oxford Depression Questionnaire(ODQ)was employed to assess the symptoms of emotional blunting of the patients.The t-test,Chi-square test,and two-way analysis of variance were utilized to investigate the relationship between emotional blunting and antidepressants,as well as to analyze the influencing factors of antidepressants on emotional blunting in patients with MDD.Results Nearly 43％of patients believed that antidepressants were affecting their emotions,while 40％had considered stopping or discontinued the medication due to emotional side effects.The type and duration of antidepressant medication had an impact on emotional blunting in patients with MDD(F=2.241,P=0.043,ŋ2=0.093).Further simple effect analysis showed that patients taking only serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors for less than one month had significantly higher ODQ scores than those who had been on medication for more than nine months(P=0.027).In cases where patients were on combined medication,those on medication for 1-3 months scored higher on the ODQ than those on medication for over nine months(P=0.047).Additionally,patients on combined medication at the 1-3 months mark had significantly higher ODQ scores than those taking only selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors,showing a statistically significant difference(P=0.044).Conclusion The high prevalence of symptoms related to emotional blunting in MDD patients necessitates a clinical focus.The occurrence of emotional blunting is correlated with antidepressant usage,with patients reporting milder symptoms of this condition if they have been undergoing treatment for a period of nine months or longer.
Keywords：emotional bluntingpatients with major depressive disorderantidepressants
Publication Date：2025-05-31
Online Publishing Date：2026-08-26(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：4( 680-683 )