Age distribution of the melancholic type of personality (typus melancholicus) in outpatients with major depression: a comparison with a population without a history of depression.

We investigated the age distribution of the typus melancholicus (TM) score, measured by Kasahara's scale, in 119 outpatients with major depression and in 600 workers without a history of depression. In the patient group, the score was, regardless of age, always constant at a high level. The TM score for the control group increased with aging and was in most age groups significantly lower than that for the patient group. This result suggests that a higher TM score on the scale would be a risk factor and a possible trait marker of major depression.