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Treatment of Major Depression · Journal article
V M Bekhterev Review of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology · September 7, 2026
Early or partial results. Treat as a signal, not a conclusion.
This is a descriptive survey of 1,021 Russian psychiatrists' subjective clinical views and self-reported diagnostic and therapeutic practices regarding anhedonia. The study documents consensus opinions (e.g., 96.5% assess anhedonia in depression, 77.1% acknowledge transdiagnostic nature) and reported associations with poor prognosis, but provides no empirical evidence of treatment efficacy, outcome validation, or comparison of strategies.
Cross-sectional survey. Physicians actively practicing psychiatry in the Russian Federation; eligible participants included those engaged in clinical practice.. Intervention: Survey questionnaire assessing detection, clinical significance, prognosis impact, and pharmacological and psychotherapeutic strategies for anhedonia. n = 1,021. Russian Federation.
Nearly all respondents explicitly assess anhedonia in depression (96.5%) Anhedonia is estimated to occur in 40–80% of patients, most pronounced in melancholic depression (55.6%) Transdiagnostic nature acknowledged by 77.1%, most often in schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder and bipolar disorder
High consensus on psychotherapy (81.1%, with cognitive behavioral therapy most cited); pharmacotherapy opinions divided: 52.0% support antidepressants for pronounced anhedonia, 56.9% do not support antipsychotics
This survey documents current clinical consensus among Russian psychiatrists regarding anhedonia assessment and management but does not provide evidence of treatment efficacy or outcome superiority. Clinicians should recognize that clinician opinions, while informative about practice patterns, do not replace empirical trials comparing therapeutic strategies for anhedonia.
A descriptive survey of clinician opinions and practices regarding anhedonia management, without comparative data, control groups, or validated clinical outcomes; represents clinicians' subjective views rather than empirical evidence of effectiveness.
As stated by the source record.
Quoted from the source exactly as published.
This survey documents current clinical consensus among Russian psychiatrists regarding anhedonia assessment and management but does not provide evidence of treatment efficacy or outcome superiority. Clinicians should recognize that clinician opinions, while informative about practice patterns, do not replace empirical trials comparing therapeutic strategies for anhedonia.
Graded across the dimensions that decide whether you should act, each from what the source actually supports. There is no single score, and where a dimension was not assessed it says so.
Objective. To comprehensively assess practicing psychiatrists’ clinical views, diagnostic practices, and therapeutic approaches to anhedonia in the Russian Federation. Materials and methods. A crosssectional survey was conducted from March to September 2025. A purpose-designed 27-item questionnaire covered detection and clinical significance of anhedonia, its impact on prognosis, and pharmacological and psychotherapeutic strategies. Eligible participants were physicians actively practicing psychiatry in the Russian Federation. The sample was recruited via targeted mailings to institutional clusters with subsequent link forwarding (i.e., elements of snowball sampling); the final cohort represents a purposive sample. Statistical analyses were performed in R 4.2.1 using base R and the psych package. Results. A total of 1,021 physicians were included (mean age 40.8 years [SD 11.3]; years in practice 14.5 [SD 10.9]). Nearly all respondents explicitly assess anhedonia in depression (96.5%). In clinicians’ subjective estimates, anhedonia occurs in 40–80% of patients and is most pronounced in melancholic depression (55.6%). The transdiagnostic nature of anhedonia is acknowledged by most respondents (77.1%), most often in the context of schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder and bipolar disorder. Anhedonia is viewed as a marker of unfavorable prognosis: impaired functioning (62.2%), slower improvement (59.5%), and increased suicide risk (51.8%). Consensus regarding psychotherapy was high (81.1%; cognitive behavioral therapy most frequently cited). Opinions on pharmacotherapy were divided: 52.0% considered some antidepressants more effective in pronounced anhedonia; the need for antipsychotics was more often not supported (56.9%). No substantial geographic differences between metropolitan areas and other regions were identified. Male physicians were somewhat less likely to endorse the necessity of psychotherapy for anhedonia. About half of the respondents noted that under antidepressant treatment, worsening or persistence of anhedonia was often accompanied by “emotional blunting” (feelings of flattened emotions, apathy) in patients. Conclusions. Russian psychiatrists regard anhedonia as a central and transdiagnostic symptom that affects prognosis and warrants proactive assessment. These findings support domain-oriented approaches to anhedonia and personalized algorithms for managing patients with depression.
Taken from the source record, never inferred. Follow any of these and new work involving them reaches your briefing.