Abstract: Objective  To investigate the depression and social support status of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) patients, and to explore the correlation between the two factors.   Methods  Ninety-four MDR-TB patients in case group and 94 people selected from the same area of MDR-TB patients’ household register in control group were investigated by Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) and Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS). Ninety-six questionnaires were issued for MDR-TB patients and 94 valid were returned with the effective response rate of 97.9%. All these 94 patients were enrolled in case group. 718 questionnaires were issued for people selected from the same area of MDR-TB cases’ household register and 676 valid were returned with the effective response rate of 94.2%. Among these 676 people, 94 people were selected with the same gender and age (≤ 2 years’ difference) of cases (1∶1 matched pair). Bivariate correlation analysis, t-test and one-way analysis of variance were applied.   Results  The average SDS score of case group was (52.80±8.34), which was higher than the control group (41.81±10.26)(t=8.284, P<0.01), 45 patients were depressed; MDR-TB patients (35.65±5.47) received less support from the society than the control group (41.80±6.62)(t=6.457, P<0.01), the difference was statistically significant. The SDS score of MDR-TB patients was negatively correlated with the total score of social support (r=-0.520, P<0.01), which indicated the more social support the patients got, the less depressive symptoms they had.    Conclusion  Attention should be paid to the social support system and improvement of MDR-TB patients’ depression in order to improve the quality of their lives.

Key words: Tuberculosis, multidrug-resistant/drug therapy, Depression, Social support, Questionnaires