• Dezhi Chen, Xiaoyan Guo, Zhenzhen Zheng, Qianqian Wei, Wei Song, Bei Cao, Rui Huang, Rong Yang, and Huifang Shang.
• Department of Neurology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610041, China.
• Muscle Nerve. 2015 Mar 1;51(3):353-7.

IntroductionDepression and anxiety are common in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients and caregivers.MethodsIn this study we investigated 93 ALS patients and their 93 caregivers. Depression and anxiety were quantified by the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale and Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale, respectively.ResultsVery strong correlations between depression and anxiety were found among patients and their caregivers. The severity of depression and anxiety of patients correlated moderately with that of their caregivers. No correlations were found between the severity of depression and anxiety and ALS Functional Rating Scale-Revised (ALSFRS-R) score or for disease duration among patients and caregivers. However, severity of depression and anxiety in caregivers correlated with their age.ConclusionsDepression and anxiety in ALS patients and their caregivers were associated closely with each other but not with physical disability or disease duration in our Chinese population.© 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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