title: Increased personality disorders and Axis I comorbidity in atypical depression.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Comparison of patients with and without atypical depression on comorbid Axis I and I disorders to determine whether atypical depression is associated with a higher comorbidity.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-nine major depressive disorder patients with and without atypical depression were compared on clinical measures using multiple regression analyses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Atypical depression predicted the presence of comorbid Axis I (100% vs 33%), Axis II (90% vs 35%), and both Axis I and II (65% vs 8.14%) disorders. Personality disorders did not mediate the relationship between atypical depression and Axis I comorbidity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The high prevalence of Axis I and II comorbidity in major depression may be explained, at least in part, by the presence of atypical depression. Our findings also suggest that the increased Axis I comorbidity observed in atypical depression is independent of the effects of personality disorders and is probably a direct effect of atypical depression subtype. Future research should confirm whether clinical findings associated with atypical depression are independent of their association with personality disorders in a larger sample of depressed patients and also examine treatment implications in atypical depression other than a preferential monoamine oxidase inhibitor responsivity.
authors.affiliation: Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, Yeshiva University, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461, USA. lmcginn@aecom.yu.edu
authors.forename: Lata K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: McGinn
authors.forename: Gregory M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Asnis
authors.forename: Sonia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Suchday
authors.forename: Margaret
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kaplan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015897:Comorbidity; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008297:Male; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012044:Regression Analysis