Relapse of major depression after complete and partial remission during a 2-year follow-up.
BACKGROUND
Rates of remission and relapse were studied over more than 2 years in a sample of Spanish outpatients with DSM-III-R criteria of unipolar major depressive episodes.


METHODS
Patients were treated following standardised pharmacological protocols at our centre. In the first visit, the structured clinical interview for DSM-III-R (SCID) was used. The following visits were held monthly. Phases of evolution were recorded using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS), applying the Frank criteria.


RESULTS
A significantly greater proportion of relapse was observed in the partial remission group compared to the complete remission one. The rate of relapses for patients in complete remission was 15.18%, while for patients in partial remission was 67.61%. Partial remission was significantly associated with relapses.


CONCLUSIONS
The short duration of the study and the decreasing sample size during the follow-up.


CONCLUSIONS
Partial remission after a depressive episode seems to be strongly associated with relapses. Moreover, this clinical factor could by itself fully predict short-term relapses.


CONCLUSIONS
The study shows the importance of reaching complete remission to decrease the rate of short-term relapses.
Pintor
Luis
L
Instituto Clínico de Psiquiatría y Psicología, Hospital Clínico de Barcelona, C/Villarroel 170, 08036, Barcelona, Spain. 29454pp@comb.es
Gastó
Cristobal
C
Navarro
Victor
V
Torres
Xavier
X
Fañanas
Lourdes
L
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011613:Psychotherapy; D012008:Recurrence; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D000928:Antidepressive Agents