The Short-Term Outcome of Neurotic Disorders in the Community — Demographic and Clinical Predictors of Remission

A one month longitudinal study of neurotic disorders in a London community was carried out, using the Present State Examination, a structured psychiatric interview. Remission of disorder at the one month follow-up was not significantly associated with demographic variables, although remission was somewhat more common in young single males of higher social class. Remission was significantly related to recent onset of disorder and there was a tendency toward lower rates of both medical consultation and prescription of psychotropic medication in the follow-up period. Surprisingly, perhaps, initial severity of the disorder and syndrome type did not predict remission. The implications of these findings are discussed.