The authors evaluated 50 Korean immigrants who had chronic viral hepatitis
or who were healthy carriers for the hepatitis B virus in terms of the rela
tionships between their depression scores, psychosocial stressors, social s
upport; and biological markers of dysfunction. All participants completed a
questionnaire, describing their worries and concerns, and the short form o
f the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-sf). Hepatic transaminases, albumin le
vels, and prothrombin times were measured during routine clinic follow-up v
isits and were abstracted from the medical record. Values recorded within 3
months before and within 3 months after the psychiatric interview were cor
related with BDI scores. BDI-sf total scores were significantly associated
with transaminase elevations (P<0.001) both before and after BDI-sf adminis
tration. BDI scores were not associated with other measures of liver dysfun
ction or other medical causes of depression. Patients with higher BDI-sf to
tal scores had more psychosocial stressors (P = 0.008) and lower Global Ass
essment of Functioning (GAF) scores (P = 0.000).