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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
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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

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