Asymmetry in the Association Between Depression Subtypes and Health-Related Outcomes

This study aimed to assess the association between four depression subtypes and health-related symptoms. Although it was expected that there would be asymmetry across the associations between depression subtypes and health, that relationship had not been previously reported. Data on the core diagnostic symptoms of depression and four depression subtypes, plus health-related outcomes, were collected from a sample of 301 community participants who completed standardised self-report questionnaires. Results indicated that Somatic Depression and Depressed Mood were most consistently associated with poorer outcomes across physical, emotional, and social domains, while Cognitive Depression and Anhedonia subtypes showed weaker associations. An exploratory network analysis identified Social Functioning and Depressed Mood as central nodes, indicating that affective disturbance and social wellbeing are key pathways through which depression relates to wider health outcomes. In conclusion, these results confirmed the heterogeneity of depression, as well as indicating that certain symptom clusters carry disproportionate weight in predicting health outcomes, thus exhibiting an asymmetrical pattern of associations between depression and health.