Depression secondary to anxiety: findings from the McLean Hospital Depression Research Facility.

Methodologic issues pertinent to the study of depression secondary to anxiety are reviewed. Data on the frequency and temporal sequence of comorbid DSM-III-R anxiety and depressive disorders in a sample from the McLean Hospital Depression Research Facility are presented. Patients with major depression secondary to anxiety are compared with major depressed patients without anxiety on a variety of demographic and clinical variables. Conceptual and practical frameworks are developed for assessing and understanding comorbidity and secondary depression.