PS232. Influence of alexithymia on the prognosis of patients with major depression treated using pharmacotherapy.

Background: The present study aims at exploring the psychometric characteristics of the Korean version of the Depression and Somatic Symptoms Scale (DSSS) in a clinical outpatient sample. Method: Study participants were recruited from consecutive outpatients, 18 – 65 years of age, who met the DSM-IV-TR diagnostic criteria for major depressive disorder (current MDD) or had suffered from major depressive disorder (life time diagnosis of MDD). The subjects completed DSSS. A psychiatrist evaluated the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS), and the 17 items Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD). Results: In total, 203 psychiatric outpatients (142 women) were analyzed. The Korean version of the DSSS, which was confirmed to have had a two-factor structure, showed satisfactory evidences of both reliability and validity. DSSS is an excellent screening instrument of symptomatic remission (AUC=0.88), and a score of 22 was suggested as a cut-off score showing a non-full remission (sensitivity: 82.1%; specificity:81.4%). The number of somatic symptoms and the SS score were confirmed as excellent indicators of predicting the severity of depression. Conclusion: DSSS was confirmed as an instrument that can measure both depression and somatic symptoms simultaneously, and accurately. These features of DSSS may be useful in clinical practice settings or in the consultation fields.