Does the chronological relationship between the onset of dysthymia and major depression influence subsequent response to antidepressants?
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the chronological relationship between the onset of dysthymia and the onset of the first major depression influences treatment outcome in patients with double depression (DD). METHOD: Clinical and outcome measures previously collected in 77 consecutive outpatients who presented with major depression and who had pre-existing dysthymia (i.e. DD) were reviewed for the current retrospective analysis. Subjects had been administered the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia, Lifetime Version (SADS-LV), and the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D) prior to open antidepressant treatment and after 5 and 12 weeks of therapy. Response was defined as a 50% decline in HAM-D to score +/-8. Subjects were divided into those with the onset of dysthymia before the first major depression (DysB; n = 47), onset of dysthymia after major depression (DysA; n = 12) and those with onset of both condition within 2 years of each other (INDIST; n = 18). RESULTS:
