Prevalence of Depression in Patients with β-Thalassemia as Assessed by the Beck’s Depression Inventory [Hemoglobin. 2014;38(4):289–291.]

Dear Editor,

We read with great interest the recent article by Shafiee et al. (1) in which the authors examined the prevalence of depression in patients with β-thalassemia as assessed by the Beck’s Depression Inventory. They concluded that the noticeable rate of depression in thalassemic patients signifies the necessity for improving psychosocial care in this specific group of patients. To add to the clear discussion provided by the authors, we wish to emphasize an important factor that should be taken into consideration when evaluating the prevalence of depression and/or anxiety symptoms.

Antidepressants are highly effective and widely used drugs in the treatment of both anxiety and depression. Various studies and treatment guidelines have proposed different lengths of time for assessing the response to antidepressant treatment or full recovery. The Texas Medication Algorithm specifies a period of 6 weeks, while the American Psychiatric Association specifies a period of ≥4 weeks (2,3). Thus, an unknown history of antidepressant use within the 2-month period of time previous to the study may have had an unnoticed effect on the study results.

We recommend that future studies assessing the prevalence of anxiety and/or depression symptoms in a specific population should consider the history of antidepressant use at least 2 months before the study is begun.

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article.