Table 4.
Distribution of course and symptom characteristics among participants with MDD (n = 1623)
| Chronic MDD (n = 563) | Non-chronic MDD (ref) n = 1060) % or mean (sd) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| % or mean (sd) | ORa (95CI) | ||
| Course | |||
| Age of onset (yrs) | 31.2 (13.2) | 0.68*** (0.61, 0.76) | 34.5 (12.2) |
| Current episode | 31.6 | 3.81*** (2.92, 4.97) | 10.8 |
| Recurrent episode | 46.7 | 1.23 (1.00, 1.51) | 41.5 |
| Duration longest episode (yrs) | 5.9 (5.5) | –b | 0.6 (0.5) |
| Symptom manifestation during the most severe episode | |||
| Duration (yrs) | 5.3 (5.3) | –b | 0.6 (0.4) |
| Number of symptoms | 7.0 (1.4) | 1.61*** (1.25, 2.07) | 6.7 (1.4) |
| DSM-IV criteria for major depressive episode | |||
| Depressed mood | 98.2 | 1.23 (0.58, 2.60) | 97.7 |
| Diminished interest or pleasure | 90.6 | 0.92 (0.64, 1.31) | 91.0 |
| Decreased or increased appetite/weight loss or gain | 56.3 | 0.78* (0.63, 0.96) | 61.7 |
| Sleep disturbance | 82.1 | 1.09 (0.84, 1.42) | 80.8 |
| Difficult falling asleep at least one hour | 58.1 | 1.14 (0.92, 1.41) | 54.7 |
| Cannot fall asleep again | 57.1 | 1.12 (0.91, 1.39) | 53.2 |
| Psychomotor agitation or retardation | 74.8 | 1.17 (0.92, 1.48) | 71.8 |
| Agitation | 45.3 | 1.30* (1.05, 1.60) | 39.5 |
| Retardation | 41.8 | 1.03 (0.83, 1.27) | 40.8 |
| Fatigue or loss of energy | 87.7 | 0.93 (0.68, 1.27) | 88.0 |
| Worthlessness or excessive guilt | 78.3 | 1.51*** (1.19, 1.93) | 71.0 |
| Worthlessness | 62.4 | 1.63*** (1.32, 2.02) | 51.6 |
| Diminished ability to think or concentrate | 79.0 | 1.38* (1.08, 1.77) | 73.2 |
| Recurrent thoughts of death, suicidal ideation or suicidal attempts | 51.9 | 1.90*** (1.54, 2.34) | 36.4 |
| Symptoms of melancholic features specifier | |||
| Lack of reactivity | 37.0 | 1.04 (0.84, 1.29) | 35.7 |
| Depression regularly worse in the morning | 24.0 | 1.25 (0.97, 1.60) | 20.2 |
| Early morning awaking | 31.2 | 1.21 (0.97, 1.53) | 26.8 |
| Decrease in appetite or reported weight loss | 39.4 | 0.59*** (0.47, 0.73) | 52.0 |
| Excessive guilt | 60.5 | 1.43*** (1.16, 1.77) | 51.9 |
| Symptoms of atypical features | |||
| Mood reactivity | 62.5 | 0.94 (0.76, 1.17) | 64.3 |
| Increase in appetite or reported weight gain | 19.9 | 1.66*** (1.25, 2.21) | 12.8 |
| Hypersomnia | 22.4 | 1.08 (0.84, 1.38) | 21.8 |
| Leaden paralysis | 25.9 | 1.29* (1.01, 1.66) | 20.7 |
| Interpersonal rejection sensitivity | 68.2 | 1.22° (0.98, 1.53) | 64.4 |
| Subtypes | |||
| Atypical | 16.3 | 1.29 (0.97, 1.72) | 13.4 |
| Melancholic | 28.1 | 0.99 (0.79, 1.25) | 28.2 |
| Combined | 11.7 | 1.16 (0.84, 1.62) | 9.9 |
| Unspecified | 43.9 | 0.84 (0.68, 1.03) | 48.4 |
MDD major depressive disorder, yrs years, sd standard deviation, OR odds ratio, 95CI 95% confidence interval, ref reference
***p < 0.001, **p < 0.01, *p < 0.05, p < 0.1
aEach line corresponds to one logistic regression model adjusted for age, sex, education and nationality (Model 1). bModel does not converge due to quasi-compete separation of data points