Anxiety sensitivity and major depression: examination of affective state dependence

An emerging body of research suggests that anxiety sensitivity (AS), and particularly a facet of AS labelled fear of cognitive dyscontrol, is elevated in depressed individuals and is associated with severity of depressed mood. The current prospective study extended previous work by investigating the extent of affective state dependency in the AS–depression relationship in 51 patients who had major depressive episode (MDE) at baseline assessment (Time 1) and did not have MDE 1 year later at follow-up (Time 2). Despite considerable reduction in severity of depressed mood, scores on the Anxiety Sensitivity Index (M=27) remained elevated. Hierarchical regression analysis indicated that, after controlling for both Time 1 and Time 2 depression severity, Time 1 AS continued to predict residual Time 2 AS and increased prediction of variance from approximately 25% to 50%. Time 1 fear of cognitive dyscontrol AS continued to significantly predict Time 2 fear of cognitive dyscontrol AS when Time 2 fear of physical symptoms AS was statistically controlled. A subsample of recovered patients who displayed only minimal depression symptoms was compared to a matched sample of community controls. While the two groups did not significantly differ on level of depressed mood, the formerly depressed patients had significantly higher levels of AS. Implications for a proposed “depression sensitivity” are discussed.