Dynamic time warp analysis of individual symptom trajectories in depressed patients treated with electroconvulsive therapy.

Abstract

BACKGROUND\nAlthough electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) effectively improves severity scores of depression, its effects on its individual symptoms has scarcely been studied. We aimed to study which depressive symptom trajectories dynamically cluster together in individuals as well as groups of patients during ECT using Dynamic Time Warp (DTW) analysis.\n\n\nMETHODS\nWe analysed the standardized weekly scores on the 25-item abbreviated version of the Comprehensive Psychopathological Rating Scale (CPRS) in depressed patients before and during their first six weeks of ECT treatment. DTW analysis was used to analyse the (dis)similarity of time series of items scores at the patient level (300 DTW distances per patient) as well as on the group level. Hierarchical cluster, network, and Distatis analyses yielded symptom dimensions.\n\n\nRESULTS\nWe included 133 patients, 64.7% female, with an average age of 60.4 years (SD 15.1). Individual DTW distance matrices and networks revealed marked differences in hierarchical and network clusters among patients. Based on cluster analyses of the aggregated matrices, four symptom clusters emerged. In patients who reached remission, the average DTW distance between their symptoms was significantly smaller than non-remitters, reflecting denser symptom networks in remitters than non-remitters (p=0.04).\n\n\nLIMITATIONS\nThe assessments were done only weekly during the first six weeks of ECT treatment. The use of individual items of the abbreviated CPRS may have led to measurement error as well as floor and ceiling effects.\n\n\nCONCLUSION\nDTW offers an efficient new approach to analyse symptom trajectories within individuals as well as groups of patients, aiding personalized medicine of psychopathology.