F074 Hamilton Depression Scale (HDRS) in Huntington’s disease: sociodemographic, clinical and neuropsychological determinants

<h3>Introduction</h3> In addition to motor symptoms and cognitive impairment, neuropsychiatric symptoms are part of the Huntington’s disease (HD) phenotype, with a prevalence rate ranging from 33% to 76%, depression being one of the most frequent. The aim of the present study was to assess depressive symptomatology in HD by applying the reduced version of the Hamilton Depression Scale (HDRS). We analyzed the sociodemographic and clinical-neurological determinants of depression in HD, as well as the relationship between depressive symptomatology, cognitive performance and excutive functions. <h3>Methods</h3> Thirty-four HD patients and 30 control subjects were assessed using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS). In addition to collecting the sociodemographic and clinical variables (UHDRS and number of CAG repetitions) of the sample, their cognitive-executive status was estimated through an abbreviated neuropsychological battery composed of the MoCA test, the Stroop Test, the Trail Making Test (TMT), verbal fluency tests and a Go-noGO task. These variables were related both to the total measure of the HDRS and to each of its items. <h3>Results</h3> HD patients presented elevated levels of depression relative to the control group. While most of the HDRS items seem to be directly related to measures of executive functioning, the total depression score is associated with general cognitive performance (MoCA). On the other hand, we identified that only the number of CAG repetitions, and not motor status (UHDRS), showed a significant direct correlation with depressive symptomatology (depressed mood, suicidality and inhibition) of HD patients. <h3>Conclusions</h3> HDRS is shown to be a valid tool in the detection of depressive symptomatology in HD, being conditioned by the cognitive status and genetic load of patients.