Typus melancholicus measured by a questionnaire in unipolar depressive patients: age- and sex-distribution, and relationship to clinical characteristics of depression.

We investigated the age- and sex-distribution of Typus melancholicus (TM) score by Kasahara's scale and the relationship of that score to various clinical characteristics in 110 unipolar depressive outpatients. The following results were obtained: The TM score in depressives is always constant regardless of age or sex, and has no relationship to clinical characteristics such as age, onset age, severity of depression, previous episodes, stress of life events, existence of melancholia, and the 4-month outcome. Patients with a higher TM score had no history of previous hypomanic episodes, while patients with a lower TM score had a significantly lower prevalence of early parental loss compared to those with moderate and higher TM scores. No difference in the prevalence of depressive family history was found between patients with different TM scores.