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Chronic major depressive episode and dysthymia: comparison of demographic and clinical characteristics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 April 2020

GB Cassano  and
M Savino
GB Cassano
Affiliation:
Istituto di Clinica Psichiatrica, Università degli Studi di Pisa, via Roma 67, 56100 Pisa, Italy
M Savino
Affiliation:
Istituto di Clinica Psichiatrica, Università degli Studi di Pisa, via Roma 67, 56100 Pisa, Italy
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Summary

In an attempt to better delineate demographic and clinical characteristics of mild chronic depressions, 46 outpatients fulfilling DSM III-R criteria for dysthymia were compared with patients suffering from a chronic major depressive episode. The profile obtained from our dysthymic sample matches with those reported by other authors. The comparison between “minor” and major chronic depression was also carried out by subdividing these latter into unipolar - recurrent and single episode - and bipolar depression. Dysthymics showed a bipolar family history closer to that of bipolar chronic major depressives which was significantly higher than that recorded in the other sub-categories.

Keywords

chronic depressiondysthymiadepressive temperamentfamily historybipolar spectrum
Type
Research Article
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 8 , Issue 5: Worldwide therapeutic strategies in atypical depressive syndromes , 1993 , pp. 277 - 279
Copyright
Copyright © European Psychiatric Association 1993

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