Prospective longitudinal study of depression following spinal cord injury.

A group of 60 patients with spinal cord injury was examined to assess mood disorders during the rehabilitation hospital admission and 6 months of follow-up. During the initial evaluations, 13 patients (22%) had major depression and 5 patients (8%) had minor depression. The development of mood disorders during the hospital admission appeared to be related to heterogeneous etiological factors, including previous psychiatric history and severity of impairment in activities of daily living. During the first 3 months after SCI, about half of the depressions resolved. Nonrecovery from depression may be related to lack of adequate social support.