title: Relapse of major depression after complete and partial remission during a 2-year follow-up.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Instituto Clínico de Psiquiatría y Psicología, Hospital Clínico de Barcelona, C/Villarroel 170, 08036, Barcelona, Spain. 29454pp@comb.es
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pintor
authors.forename: Cristobal
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gastó
authors.forename: Victor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Navarro
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Torres
authors.forename: Lourdes
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fañanas
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D000928:Antidepressive Agents