While melancholic (according to DSM) or somatic syndrome (according to ICD) has strong historical roots and substantial empirical verification, the concept of atypical features is relatively new and not sufficiently studied. The aim of the current study was to investigate the reliability of these diagnostic subcategories in patients suffering from major depression in Greece. Forty patients (eight males and 32 females) aged 19-60 years (mean 39.3, sd 12.2) suffering from major depression according to DSM-IV criteria were studied. SCAN v.2.0 was used to assess symptomatology. The presence of each criterion according to DSM-IV and ICD-10 was registered. Frequency tables were developed and factor and cluster analysis were performed. The results of the analysis suggest the existence of three syndromes which roughly reflect the melancholic and atypical but also propose a third, which can be considered as an ‘undifferentiated’ syndrome. The DSM demand that the existence of melancholic features be excluded first and then that diagnosis of atypical features be made was confirmed.

The Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI), the Schedules for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry (SCAN) and the International Personality Disorder Examination (IPDE) constitute part of a family of instruments which have been designed for the assessment of mental disorders as defined by the explicit diagnostic criteria and algorithms in ICD 10 and DSM III-R. They have been developed at the request of the World Health Organization and the United States Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration to foster a common language in the mental health field, to facilitate comparisons of clinical and research findings from different settings, countries and cultures, and to improve the scientific basis of diagnosis and classification in psychiatry. This report describes the background, purpose and essential features of the three instruments.

Aunque el síndrome melancólico (según el DSM) o somático (según la CIE) tiene fuertes raíces históricas y una verificación empírica sustancial, el concepto de rasgos atípicos es relativamente nuevo y no se ha estudiado lo suficiente. El propósito del estudio actual era investigar la fiabilidad de estas subcategorías diagnósticas en pacientes que sufrían depresión mayor en Grecia. Se estudiaron 40 pacientes (ocho varones y 32 mujeres) de 19 a 60 años de edad (media; 39,3, DT; 12,2) que sufrían depresión mayor según los criterios del DSM-IV. Se utilizó SCAN v.2.0 para evaluar los síntomas. La presencia de cada criterio se registró según el DSM-IV y la CIE-10. Se desarrollaron tablas de frecuencia y se realizó análisis factorial y de grupos. Los resultados del análisis indican la existencia de tres síndromes que reflejan más o menos el síndrome melancólico y el atípico, pero también proponen un tercero, que se puede considerar como un síndrome "indiferenciado". Se confirmó la exigencia del DSM de que se excluya primero la existencia de rasgos melancólicos y se haga luego el diagnóstico de rasgos atípicos.