Is depression a chronic mental illness?

Abstract

Over the past few decades, theory and research on depression have increasingly focused on the recurrent and chronic nature of the disorder. These recurrent and chronic forms of depression are extremely important to study, as they may account for the bulk of the burden associated with the disorder. Paradoxically, however, research focusing on depression as a recurrent condition has generally failed to reveal any useful early indicators of risk for recurrence. We suggest that this present impasse is due to the lack of recognition that depression can also be an acute, timelimited condition. We argue that individuals with acute, single lifetime episodes of depression have been systematically eclipsed from the research agenda, thereby effectively preventing the discovery of factors that may predict who, after experiencing a first lifetime episode of depression, goes on to have a recurrent or chronic clinical course. Greater awareness of the high prevalence of people with a single lifetime episode of depression, and the development of research designs that identify these individuals and allow comparisons with those who have recurrent forms of the disorder, could yield substantial gains in understanding the lifetime pathology of this devastating mental illness.

Effect of Fluoxetine on Periodontal Status in Patients With Depression: A Cross‐Sectional Observational Study

“…Depression is often considered a chronic or recurrent illness 34 . Prophylactic adequacy or long‐term sustainment of improvement is prudent, and thus maintenance doses of antidepressants are recommended to attain long‐term benefits.…”

“…Depression is often considered a chronic or recurrent illness. 34 Prophylactic adequacy or long-term sustainment of improvement is prudent, and thus maintenance doses of antidepressants are recommended to attain long-term benefits. Fluoxetine may have a potential therapeutic use in other diseases unrelated to depression, as demonstrated in clinical trials 35,36 and animal studies.…”

Does rumination mediate the relationship between mindfulness and depressive relapse?

“…In addition, relapse rates are high and increase with each episode (Barnhofer & Crane, ). By the time a person has experienced three episodes, there is a 90% chance of relapse (Monroe & Harkness, ). Reducing the risk of relapse is an important goal of treatment to reduce the overall prevalence of MDD and its negative impact on individuals.…”

Magnitud, impacto y estrategias de enfrentamiento de la depresión, con referencia a Chile

“…El riesgo global de recurrencia en pacientes tratados en el nivel especializado es alta (21% a 37% en el primer año, 60% tras 5 años, 67% luego de 10 años y 85% después de 15 años), pareciendo ser menor en atención primaria (31% al año de seguimiento) y en población general (35% después de 15 años) (41) . Por tanto, los trastornos depresivos tienden a cronificarse, recurrir y causar discapacidad que se acentúa con el tiempo 5,[42][43][44] . Por otro lado, se ha evidenciado que edad temprana de inicio, episodios recurrentes, síntomas residuales, disforia, síntomas severos, depresión doble, comorbilidad psiquiátrica y médica, historia familiar de depresión, falta de red de apoyo, eventos estresantes, problemas laborales y económicos, son factores de riesgo de recurrencia 41 ; así mismo, desventajas sociodemográficas, largas horas de trabajo, conflictos laborales y sociofamiliares, cogniciones negativas y enfermedades comórbidas, son de riesgo para las formas crónicas 45,46 .…”