Stacherl Barbara, Entringer Theresa M
German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), Germany.
Department of Psychology, University of Greifswald, Germany.
Int J Soc Psychiatry. 2025 Jun;71(4):723-737. doi: 10.1177/00207640241303038. Epub 2024 Dec 26.
Receiving a formal diagnosis for a depressive disorder is a prerequisite for getting treatment, yet the illness inherently complicates care-seeking. Thus, understanding the process from depression symptoms to diagnosis is crucial.
This study aims to disentangle (1) risk factors for depression symptoms from (2) facilitators and barriers to receiving a diagnosis experiencing depression symptoms.
We used data from the German Socio-Economic Panel. Within a sample of 40,238 individuals, we investigated factors predicting depression symptoms, assessed with the SF-12 Mental Component Summary score. Additionally, within a subsample of 3,444 individuals with depression symptoms, we analyzed factors associated with receiving a first-ever diagnosis in the subsequent year. These factors included health status, demographics, socioeconomic characteristics, personality traits, and health infrastructure.
Depression symptoms were associated with chronic physical conditions, female gender, middle age, living alone, fewer close friends, being unemployed or not working, lower income, lower agreeableness, conscientiousness, or extraversion, and higher neuroticism. Additionally, poorer overall mental and physical health, female gender, older age, unemployment, and neuroticism were positively associated with receiving a formal diagnosis. Access to general practitioners and psychotherapists was not associated with receiving a formal diagnosis.
Our results replicated previous research on risk factors for depression symptoms. Moreover, some risk factors for experiencing symptoms (female gender, middle age, unemployment, and higher neuroticism) subsequently also facilitated receiving a formal depression diagnosis. Thus, this study underscores the importance of considering the chronological sequence in the process from depression symptoms to diagnosis.
获得抑郁症的正式诊断是接受治疗的前提条件，但这种疾病本身会使寻求治疗变得复杂。因此，了解从抑郁症状到诊断的过程至关重要。
本研究旨在厘清（1）抑郁症状的风险因素与（2）出现抑郁症状后获得诊断的促进因素和障碍。
我们使用了德国社会经济面板的数据。在40238名个体的样本中，我们调查了用SF - 12精神成分汇总得分评估的预测抑郁症状的因素。此外，在3444名有抑郁症状的个体子样本中，我们分析了与次年首次获得诊断相关的因素。这些因素包括健康状况、人口统计学特征、社会经济特征、人格特质和卫生基础设施。
抑郁症状与慢性身体疾病、女性、中年、独居、亲密朋友较少、失业或无工作、低收入、较低的宜人性、尽责性或外向性以及较高的神经质有关。此外，整体心理和身体健康较差、女性、年龄较大、失业和神经质与获得正式诊断呈正相关。获得全科医生和心理治疗师的服务与获得正式诊断无关。
我们的结果重复了先前关于抑郁症状风险因素的研究。此外，一些出现症状的风险因素（女性、中年、失业和较高的神经质）随后也促进了获得抑郁症的正式诊断。因此，本研究强调了在从抑郁症状到诊断的过程中考虑时间顺序的重要性。
