title: Six-month outcomes for MRI-related vascular depression.
abstract: The purpose of this paper is to estimate the relative probabilities of 6-month recovery from an index episode of major depression for subjects with and without MRI-confirmed vascular brain changes. In this cohort study, 57 depressed subjects from the Duke University Mental Health Clinical Research Center (MHCRC) for Depression in Late Life who presented with MRI-related vascular and non-vascular depression were followed for 6 months, and the rates of recovery in the two risk groups were compared. Overall, the recovery rate in this sample was 57.9%. Subjects with MRI-related vascular depression demonstrated outcomes similar to subjects with non-vascular depression (crude RR = 0.67 [0.32, 1.43]). There was a trend that demonstrated that MRI-related vascular depression placed elderly subjects and subjects with first onset of depression after age 40 at increased risk of non-recovery. The study demonstrates overall no significant difference in course between patients with and without vascular depression. It also suggests that patients with vascular depression may have a different course depending on their age and age of onset of the disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: K R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Krishnan
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Hays
authors.forename: L K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: George
authors.forename: D G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Blazer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002561:Cerebrovascular Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies