Lifetime suicidal ideation and attempt in adults with full major depressive disorder versus sustained depressed mood.
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a well-known risk factor for suicidality, but depressed mood has been used non-specifically to describe the emotional state. We sought to compare influence of MDD versus sustained depressed mood on suicidality.



A total of 12,532 adults, randomly selected through the one-person-per-household method, completed a face-to-face interview using the Korean version of Composite International Diagnostic Interview (K-CIDI) and a questionnaire for lifetime suicidal ideation (LSI) and lifetime suicidal attempt (LSA).



Of 12,361 adults, 565 were assessed as 'sustained depressed mood group' having depressed mood for more than two weeks without MDD (4.6%), and 810 adults were assessed as having full MDD (6.55%) which consisted of 'MDD with depressed mood group' (6.0%) and 'MDD without depressed mood group' (0.5%). The MDD with depressed mood group showed higher odds ratios for LSI and LSA than the sustained depressed mood group. Contrarily, no significant differences were found in LSI and LSA between the MDD group with and without depressed mood. MDD showed significant associations with LSI (AOR=2.83, 95%CI 2.12-3.78) and LSA (AOR=2.17, 95%CI 1.34-3.52), whereas sustained depressed mood showed significant associations with neither LSI nor LSA after adjusting for MDD and other psychiatric comorbidities. Interaction effect of sustained depressed mood with MDD was significant for LSI but not for LSA.



Sustained depressed mood was not related to LSI and LSA after adjusting for psychiatric comorbidities, whereas MDD was significantly associated with both LSI and LSA regardless of the presence of sustained depressed mood.
Department of Psychiatry, Depression Center, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
Hye Jin
HJ
Yoo
Department of Psychiatry, Depression Center, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
Jin Pyo
JP
Hong
Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Science, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
Maeng Je
MJ
Cho
Depression Clinical and Research Program, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA.
Maurizio
M
Fava
Depression Clinical and Research Program, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA.
David
D
Mischoulon
Department of Psychiatry, Depression Center, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
Jung-Yoon
JY
Heo
Department of Psychiatry, Depression Center, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
Kiwon
K
Kim
Department of Psychiatry, Depression Center, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea; Depression Clinical and Research Program, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA; Department of Health Sciences & Technology, Department of Medical Device Management & Research, and Department of Clinical Research Design & Evaluation, Samsung Advanced Institute for Health Sciences & Technology (SAIHST), Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: jeonhj@skku.edu.
Hong Jin
HJ
Jeon
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology*; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D059020:Suicidal Ideation; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
Major depressive disorder; Suicidal ideation; Suicide attempt; Sustained depressed mood