Patient-reported outcomes in major depressive disorder with suicidal ideation: a real-world data analysis using PatientsLikeMe platform

Background The current analysis utilized data collected via an online patient community platform, PatientsLikeMe (PLM) to compare patient-reported experiences in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) with suicidal ideation (MDSI) to those with MDD but without suicidal ideation. Methods PLM members who joined PLM between May-2007 and February-2018 and reported a diagnosis of MDD were included. The MDSI cohort included patients with MDD who reported at least one suicide-related symptom at a severity greater than “none”. Demographics, comorbidities, symptoms, and side-effects were compared between MDSI and MDD cohorts. Factors correlated with suicidal ideation (SI) were determined by a random forest procedure. Results Patients in the MDSI cohort ( n = 266) were younger (median age, 36 vs 44 years) with an earlier disease onset (before 30 years, 83% vs 71%), and a longer diagnosis latency (median, 4 vs 2 years) vs patients in the MDD cohort ( n = 11,963). Majority of patients were women in both cohorts (73% vs 83%). Median number of psychiatric comorbidities was higher in the MDSI cohort (4 vs 3). Unprompted symptoms (e.g., loneliness, feeling of hopelessness, social anxiety, impulsivity, and self-hating thoughts) were more frequent in the MDSI cohort. Hopelessness, loneliness, anhedonia, social anxiety, and younger age were highly correlated with suicidal ideation. Conclusions This analysis utilized patient-reported data to better understand symptoms, experiences, and characteristics of patients with MDSI compared to patients with MDD. The results identified various risk factors correlated with suicidal ideation that may help guide clinical judgement for patients with MDD who may not voluntarily report suicidal ideation.