Six month follow-up of early-onset chronic depression

BACKGROUND: This study sought to characterize the morbidity and treatment behavior of 49 patients with early-onset chronic depression, 6 months after terminating treatment at a university-based psychopharmacology research clinic. METHOD: Patients with and without early-onset chronic depression were selected to participate in a naturalistic follow-up study. Assessments were conducted blind to patients' histories. Patients' depressive symptoms, psychosocial functioning, and post-discharge treatment histories were assessed. RESULTS: After termination, the mean length of recovery for the sample was 3.6 months. When they left the clinic, 78% (38/49) were euthymic. At follow-up, 37% (14/38) of these had relapsed; while 45% (17/38) remained in remission for 6 months. During the follow-up period, 47% of the patients were on antidepressants. Sixty-three percent of the patients who relapsed, or were depressed when they left the clinic, did not enter treatment, 50% of whom cited insufficient resources as the primary reason for not receiving care. CONCLUSIONS: After leaving a depression research clinic, a substantial portion of patients with early-onset chronic depression remained recovered during a 6-month period, but financial impediments prevented a majority of those who did poorly from entering treatment.