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The Course and Outcome in Depressive Illness

A Follow-up Study of 122 Cases in Madurai, India

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

A. Venkoba Rao  and
N. Nammalvar
A. Venkoba Rao
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Madurai Medical College and Erskine Hospital, Madurai, India
N. Nammalvar
Affiliation:
Indian Council of Medical Research, Erskine Hospital, Madurai, India
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Summary

One hundred and nine out of one hundred and twenty-two cases of endogenous depression were followed-up after their index diagnosis 3–13 years earlier. No recurrence occurred in 28 cases. Forty-two cases turned out to be bipolar and 21 remained unipolar. Manic episodes outnumbered the depressive ones. The change of polarity from depression to mania occurred within three years after the initial depression, though in others the shift occurred between three years and twelve years. The number of episodes of depression before the onset of mania varied from 1 to 3. While the onset of depression before the age of 40 years predisposed to recurrences, there was risk of chronicity in those patients who developed the illness after 40.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 130 , Issue 4 , April 1977 , pp. 392 - 396
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1977 

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