Which Depressive Symptoms and Medication Side Effects Are Perceived by Patients as Interfering Most with Occupational Functioning?

Table 3

Summary of responses (𝑁=164) from questionnaire relating medication side effects (>9% prevalence) to interference in work functioning.

Medication side effect	% of sample experiencing side effect	Mean	SD	Clinically important interference^1 (%)
Daytime sleepiness	19	1.87	0.88	74
Trouble sleeping	26	1.84	0.92	73
Headache	22	1.67	0.98	59
Anxiety/agitation	14	1.74	1.10	57
Nausea/stomach upset	17	1.18	1.02	29
Weight loss/gain	18	0.87	0.97	17
Diarrhea/constipation	20	0.82	0.85	15
Sexual problems	32	0.08	0.30	0

¹ Defined as a response of “Very much” or “So much that I had to stop working” to the following question: “In the past week, how have the following symptoms interfered with your ability to work?”
SD, standard deviation.