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Subthreshold affective disorders: a useful concept in psychiatric epidemiology?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 October 2011

Kerstin Schotte  and
Brian Cooper
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Summary

Objective - In recent years an extensive literature has grown up around the concepts of subthreshold, subsyndromal, minor and brief recurrent affective disorder and their applications in population-based research. The aim of this short review is to examine the definitions and current status of these proposed categories with special reference to depression, and to assess their potential contribution to psychiatric epidemiology. Method - A Medline search was carried out for the period 1965-1999, based on the above four terms. Relevant references found in all identified publications were also followed up. Results - In great measure these constructs have been developed as a reponse to deficiencies in the DSM classification system and to a lesser extent in the ICD. The groups are all defined by having fewer criterial symptoms, or a shorter duration of symptoms, than the ‘official’ diagnostic categories. Use of these definitions has resulted in widely varying prevalence estimates. Conclusion - Improved methods are badly needed for classifying all those persons in the wider community who are in need of medical treatment and help for psychological disorder, but do not satisfy operational criteria laid down in the official guidelines. This cannot, however, be achieved simply by lowering operational thresholds in these systems. Further research on clinical and psycho-social characteristics of the common mental disorders is called for, and in many societies a favourable setting is that of primary health care, where a move towards pragmatic, comprehensive classification of community health problems is already under way.

Riassunto

Scopo - Negli ultimi anni si è sviluppata una consistente letteratura sui concetti di disturbi affettivi sotto-soglia, sub-sindromici, minori, brevi e ricorrenti e sulle loro applicazioni nelle ricerche sulla popolazione generate. Lo scopo di questa breve revisione della letteratura è quello di esaminare le definizioni è lo stato corrente di queste categorie, proposte in riferimento soprattutto alia depressione e di valutare il loro potenziale contributo alia psichiatria epidemiologica. Metodo - È stata effettuata una ricerca Medline sui suddetti quattro termini per il periodo 1965-1999. Sono state esaminate anche le referenze bibliografiche rilevanti contenute in tutte le pubblicazioni identificate. Risultati - In larga misura questi concetti sono stati sviluppati come risposta ai limiti nel sistema di classificazione DSM e, in minor misura, in quello ICD. I gruppi sono stati identificati per aver meno sintomi rispondenti ai criteri o una minor durata dei sintomi rispetto alle categorie diagnostiche «ufficiali». L'uso di queste definizioni ha dato luogo a stime di prevalenza che variano in modo più esteso. Conclusioni - Sono indispensabili metodi perfezionati per la classificazione di tutte quelle persone nella popolazione generale, che hanno bisogno di trattamento medico e di aiuto per disturbi psicologici, ma che non soddisfano i criteri operativi indicati dalle linee guida ufficiali. Ciò, comunque, non può essere attuato semplicemente abbassando le soglie operative in questi sistemi. Sono necessarie ulteriori ricerche sulle caratteristiche cliniche e psicosociali dei disturbi psichiatrici comuni. In molte società un setting favorevole è quello della medicina di base, dove sono già in corso iniziative per una classificazione pragmatica e globale dei problemi di salute della popolazione.

Keywords

subthreshold depressionsubsybdromal depressionbrief recurrent depressionminor depressionpsychiatric epidemiologyprimary care psychiatry.depressione sotto-sogliadepressione sub-sindromicadepressione breve ricorrentedepressione minoreepidemiologia psichiatricadisturbi psichici nella medicina generale.
Type
Invited Paper
Information
Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences , Volume 8 , Issue 4 , December 1999 , pp. 255 - 261
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1999

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