Mental health and well-being in a 6-year follow-up of patients with depression: assessments of patients and clinicians.
BACKGROUND
Psychiatric patients have the right to strive for well-being and not only be confined to symptom reduction. Studies are needed to assess global well-being during recovery from depression by comparing the assessments of patients and clinicians.


METHODS
A 6-year natural follow-up of 185 depressive out-patients was carried out with health questionnaires at baseline, 0.5, 1, 2 and 6 years, including scales on depression (BDI, HDRS), general psychopathology (SCL), functional capacity (GAF, SOFAS) and life satisfaction (LS). A structured diagnostic interview was carried out at baseline, 2 and 6 years. Complete follow-up data were obtained from 121 patients.


RESULTS
In general, depressive patients mainly attained a normal mood, adequate functional capacity and life satisfaction. Those with a slow recovery improved with successive treatment contacts, eventually reaching levels of mental health not significantly different from the others. Throughout the follow-up, recovery was similarly shown with the self-reported BDI-21, SCL-90 and LS-4, while intercorrelations between clinician ratings were low at baseline.


CONCLUSIONS
Adequate mental health and global well-being can be reached among depressive patients, but it may take time in treatment. Subjective assessments are reliable. The 4-item life satisfaction scale is a global well-being indicator and a valid treatment outcome measure.
Koivumaa-Honkanen
Heli
H
Department of Psychiatry, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland. heli.koivumaa@kuh.fi
Tuovinen
Timo K
TK
Honkalampi
Kirsi
K
Antikainen
Risto
R
Hintikka
Jukka
J
Haatainen
Kaisa
K
Viinamäki
Heimo
H
D000328:Adult; D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010361:Patients / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology