Major depression, minor depression, and double depression: Are they distinct clinical entities?

Remick, Ronald A.; Sadovnick, A. Dessa; Lam, Raymond W.; Zis, Athanasios P.; Yee, Irene M.

doi:10.1002/(sici)1096-8628(19960726)67:4<347::aid-ajmg6>3.0.co;2-j

Cited by 31 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 29 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Genetic studies assessing morbidity risks for mood disorders in first degree relatives of index cases with depression (major and minor), demonstrate comparably elevated risks in relatives of patients with both major and minor depression (17,18). Other studies indicate that the risk of minor depression is elevated in families of probands with major unipolar depression (20). These reports suggest that at least in certain nonelderly adult populations, major and minor forms of depression may be genetically indistinguishable.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…In addition, minor depression is a well recognized risk factor for MDD in adult and geriatric populations (15,16). Additionally, family studies indicate that there may be a genetic predisposition to both major and minor forms of depression (17)(18)(19)(20). Despite these observations, there is little understanding about the neurobiological substrates of minor depression, especially in the elderly (21).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Late-onset minor and major depression: early evidence for common neuroanatomical substrates detected by using MRI

Kumar

Jin

Bilker

et al. 1998

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

168

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The purpose of our study was to examine the neuroanatomical correlates of late-onset minor and major depression and to compare them with similar measures obtained from nondepressed controls. Our study groups were comprised of 18 patients with late-onset minor depression, 35 patients diagnosed with late-onset major depression, and 30 nondepressed controls. All subjects were scanned by using a 1.5-tesla MRI scanner. Absolute whole brain volume and normalized measures of prefrontal and temporal lobe volumes were obtained and used for comparison among groups. Our findings indicate that patients with minor depression present with specific neuroanatomical abnormalities that are comparable with the major depression group but significantly different from the controls. Normalized prefrontal lobe volumes show a significant linear trend with severity of depression, with volumes decreasing with illness severity. Whole brain volumes did not differ significantly among groups. These findings have broad implications for the biology of late-life depression and suggest that there may be common neurobiological substrates that underlie all clinically significant forms of late-onset mood disturbances.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Late-onset minor and major depression: early evidence for common neuroanatomical substrates detected by using MRI

Kumar

Jin

Bilker

et al. 1998

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

168

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Considering the temperament issue in a wider sense, temperaments could constitute all the above in different proportions, but even in the same patient [158][159][160][161][162][163][164][165][166][167] . Affective temperaments seem to relate also to mood disorders in the family history, thus constituting an endophenotype bridge between genes and mood disorders 72,140,144,147,148 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Temperament in the Etiopathogenesis of Bipolar Spectrum Illness

Fountoulakis

Gonda

Koufaki

et al. 2016

Harvard Review of Psychiatry

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Bipolar disorder constitutes a challenge for clinicians in everyday clinical practice. Our knowledge concerning this clinical entity is incomplete and contemporary classification systems are unable to reflect the complexity of this disorder.. The concept of temperament which for the first time was described during antiquity constitutes a reasonable vehicle to synthesize our knowledge on how the human body works and what determines human behavior. Although it originally included philosophical and sociocultural approaches, today the biomedical model is dominant. It is possible that specific temperaments might constitute vulnerability factors, determine the clinical picture or constitute illness course modifiers and even act as a bridge between genes and clinical manifestations, thus giving birth to the concept of the bipolar spectrum with major implications for all aspects of mental health research and providing of care. More specifically it has been reported that the hyperthymic and the depressive temperaments are related to the more 'classic' bipolar disorder, while cyclothymic, anxious and irritable temperaments are related to more complex manifestations and might predict poor response to treatment, violent or suicidal behavior and high comorbidity. It seems reasonable to assume that the incorporating of the concept of temperament and the bipolar spectrum in the standard training of psychiatric residents might result in an improvement of everyday clinical practice.3

show abstract

“…Remick et al (1996), in a study of 146 consecutive patients and their relatives, found no difference in morbid risk for first-degree relatives to develop mood disorder between those with index diagnoses of major depression, minor depression (dysthymia) and double depression.…”

Section: What Is Depression?mentioning

confidence: 96%

Diagnosis of depression in elderly patients

Evans¹,

Mottram²

2000

Adv. psychiatr. treat

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Depression in old age is a pathological process, not a normal reaction to growing older. The majority of people cope with ageing, and many feel happy and fulfilled. However, there is a bias among health professionals and the community in general to accept lower functioning and more symptoms in older people (Alexopoulos, 1992). Depression tends to be denied by the current generation of elderly people, many of whom were raised in an atmosphere where showing feelings was discouraged, and this adds to diagnostic difficulties. Comorbid medical conditions, the tendency of patients to somatise, cognitive deterioration, and multiple life events, often of loss (e.g. bereavement, retirement, moving to smaller housing), all further complicate the diagnostic process.

show abstract

Major depression, minor depression, and double depression: Are they distinct clinical entities?

Cited by 31 publications

References 29 publications

Late-onset minor and major depression: early evidence for common neuroanatomical substrates detected by using MRI

Late-onset minor and major depression: early evidence for common neuroanatomical substrates detected by using MRI

The Role of Temperament in the Etiopathogenesis of Bipolar Spectrum Illness

Diagnosis of depression in elderly patients

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About