Functional Impairment in Patients with Major Depressive Disorder and Comorbid Anxiety Disorder

<jats:sec> <jats:title>Objective:</jats:title> <jats:p>To analyze the potential for different aspects of anxiety to modify the effect of impaired functioning in major depressive disorder (MDD).</jats:p> </jats:sec> <jats:sec> <jats:title>Methods:</jats:title> <jats:p>Participants ( n = 1226) were psychiatric outpatients with MDD. A cross-sectional, multicentre, nationwide study was designed. The 12-item version of the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule II was used to assess functional limitation. Anxiety was measured using the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Depression severity was measured using the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology.</jats:p> </jats:sec> <jats:sec> <jats:title>Results:</jats:title> <jats:p>About 43.1% of patients had a comorbid MDD and anxiety disorder. Poorer functioning correlated significantly with severity of depression (Pearson r = 0.78, P = 0.001), severity of anxiety ( r = 0.65, P = 0.001), and higher anxiety trait scores ( r = 0.40, P = 0.001), but not significantly with STAI-State scores ( r = 0.03, P = 0.26). The overall regression model was significant and explained 66 of the functioning variability in patients with MDD, mostly attributable to depression severity. Results indicate that anxiety has a moderate impact on functioning impairment in patients with MDD.</jats:p> </jats:sec> <jats:sec> <jats:title>Conclusions:</jats:title> <jats:p>Our findings suggest that MDD and anxiety severity appear to be associated significantly with impaired functioning in patients with MDD but explains only a moderate proportion of variance.</jats:p> </jats:sec>