Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-qsmjn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-19T21:31:19.918Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Recurrent brief depressive disorder reinvestigated: a community sample of adolescents and young adults

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 April 2003

L. PEZAWAS ,
H.-U. WITTCHEN ,
H. PFISTER ,
J. ANGST ,
R. LIEB  and
S. KASPER
L. PEZAWAS
Affiliation:
From the Department of General Psychiatry, University of Vienna, Austria; Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Technical University of Dresden, Dresden and Department of Clinical Psychology and Epidemiology, Max Planck Institute for Psychiatry, Munich, Germany; University Hospital for Psychiatry, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland; and Clinical Brain Disorders Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
H.-U. WITTCHEN
Affiliation:
From the Department of General Psychiatry, University of Vienna, Austria; Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Technical University of Dresden, Dresden and Department of Clinical Psychology and Epidemiology, Max Planck Institute for Psychiatry, Munich, Germany; University Hospital for Psychiatry, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland; and Clinical Brain Disorders Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
H. PFISTER
Affiliation:
From the Department of General Psychiatry, University of Vienna, Austria; Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Technical University of Dresden, Dresden and Department of Clinical Psychology and Epidemiology, Max Planck Institute for Psychiatry, Munich, Germany; University Hospital for Psychiatry, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland; and Clinical Brain Disorders Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
J. ANGST
Affiliation:
From the Department of General Psychiatry, University of Vienna, Austria; Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Technical University of Dresden, Dresden and Department of Clinical Psychology and Epidemiology, Max Planck Institute for Psychiatry, Munich, Germany; University Hospital for Psychiatry, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland; and Clinical Brain Disorders Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
R. LIEB
Affiliation:
From the Department of General Psychiatry, University of Vienna, Austria; Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Technical University of Dresden, Dresden and Department of Clinical Psychology and Epidemiology, Max Planck Institute for Psychiatry, Munich, Germany; University Hospital for Psychiatry, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland; and Clinical Brain Disorders Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
S. KASPER
Affiliation:
From the Department of General Psychiatry, University of Vienna, Austria; Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Technical University of Dresden, Dresden and Department of Clinical Psychology and Epidemiology, Max Planck Institute for Psychiatry, Munich, Germany; University Hospital for Psychiatry, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland; and Clinical Brain Disorders Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Background. This article presents prospective lower bound estimations of findings on prevalence, incidence, clinical correlates, severity markers, co-morbidity and course stability of threshold and subthreshold recurrent brief depressive disorder (RBD) and other mood disorders in a community sample of 3021 adolescents.

Method. Data were collected at baseline (age 14–17) and at two follow-up interviews within an observation period of 42 months. Diagnostic assessment was based on the Munich Composite International Diagnostic Interview (M-CIDI).

Results. Our data suggest that RBD is a prevalent (2·6%) clinical condition among depressive disorders (21·3%) being at least as prevalent as dysthymia (2·3%) in young adults over lifetime. Furthermore, RBD is associated with significant clinical impairment sharing many features with major depressive disorder (MDD). Suicide attempts were reported in 7·8% of RBD patients, which was similar to MDD (11·9%). However, other features, like gender distribution or co-morbidity patterns, differ essentially from MDD. Furthermore, the lifetime co-occurrence of MDD and RBD or combined depression represents a severe psychiatric condition.

Conclusions. This study provides further independent support for RBD as a clinically significant syndrome that could not be significantly explained as a prodrome or residual of major affective disorders.

Type
Research Article
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 33 , Issue 3 , April 2003 , pp. 407 - 418
Copyright
© 2003 Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)