title: General Similarities but Consistent Differences Between Early- and Late-Onset Depression Among Korean Adults Aged 40 and Older.
abstract: Differences in clinical characteristics, symptomatology, and psychiatric comorbidity between early-onset depression (EOD) and late-onset depression (LOD) were examined in a nationwide representative sample. The Korean Composite International Diagnostic Interview was used to investigate psychiatric diagnoses and age of onset. A total of 319 subjects aged 40 years and older with a current major depressive disorder (MDD) were included, and both a continuous and a dichotomous (40 years) age-of-onset indicator were used in the analyses. Despite general similarities between groups, EOD was related to chronic (recurrent and longer episode) and severe (higher lifetime suicidality) clinical features. Hypersomnia and suicidal plans/attempts were associated with EOD, whereas anhedonia was related to LOD. Lifetime generalized anxiety disorder was associated with EOD, whereas dysthymic disorder was related with higher age of MDD onset. This study provides additional evidence of consistent differences between EOD and LOD among middle-aged and older Asians.
authors.affiliation: *Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Seoul National University College of Medicine and Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul; †Department of Neuropsychiatry, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, South Korea; and ‡Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, AZ.
authors.forename: Jee Eun
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Ji Hoon
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Sohn
authors.forename: Su Jeong
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Seong
authors.forename: Hye Won
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Suk
authors.forename: Maeng Je
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Cho
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D017668:Age of Onset; D000368:Aged; D044466:Asian People / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000208:ethnology; D012189:Retrospective Studies