Kennedy Noel, Abbott Rosemary, Paykel Eugene S
Institute of Psychiatry, London, UK.
Br J Psychiatry. 2004 Apr;184:330-6. doi: 10.1192/bjp.184.4.330.
Few follow-up studies of depression have evaluated depressive symptomatology over time at both threshold and sub-threshold levels.
To evaluate long-term longitudinal symptomatic course after an episode of severe depression.
A total of 61 participants from a previous study cohort underwent a detailed interview covering the longitudinal course of depression and pharmacological treatment over 8-11 years of follow-up.
Of the follow-up months, 52% were spent at an asymptomatic level, 15% at minor symptom level, 20% at residual symptom level and 13% at full depression level. Also, 30% of follow-up months were spent in an episode of depression, and 18% of patients never achieved asymptomatic status during follow-up. The percentage of patients at each symptom level remained relatively stable after the first 2 years, but levels in individuals fluctuated, with a mean of two changes in symptom levels per follow-up year.
After severe episodes, sub-syndromal levels of depression are common and persistent, with considerable fluctuation suggesting a continuum between sub-syndromal subtypes and full depression.
很少有抑郁症随访研究在阈限和亚阈限水平上对抑郁症状随时间的变化进行评估。
评估重度抑郁发作后的长期纵向症状过程。
来自先前研究队列的61名参与者接受了详细访谈，内容涵盖8至11年随访期间的抑郁纵向过程和药物治疗情况。
在随访的月份中，52%处于无症状水平，15%处于轻微症状水平，20%处于残留症状水平，13%处于重度抑郁水平。此外，30%的随访月份处于抑郁发作期，18%的患者在随访期间从未达到无症状状态。最初两年后，各症状水平患者的百分比保持相对稳定，但个体的症状水平有波动，平均每年随访症状水平变化两次。
重度发作后，亚综合征水平的抑郁很常见且持续存在，有相当大的波动，表明亚综合征亚型与重度抑郁之间存在连续性。
