A study of primary affective disorder in the People's Republic of China.

Symptoms, course, and familial factors relating to depression were ascertained for 40 Chinese patients who had histories of primary affective disorder. In general, the symptoms, course, and familial factors among these patients were similar to findings in equivalent U.S. populations. A high degree of diagnostic interrater reliability was demonstrated in this cross-cultural study. Depression ratings of this population and euthymic controls showed a high correlation between the Carroll rating scale (a self-rating) and the 17-item Hamilton depression scale. Many of the currently depressed Chinese showed nonsuppression of serum cortisol after dexamethasone administration. This study suggests that effective disorder (particularly bipolar affective disorder) in China is similar to that seen in the U.S.