Table 2. Clinical characteristics of the patients' sample (n = 132).
| MDD first depressive episode n = 35 | MDD recurrent depressive episodes n = 97 | Statistics* | ||
| Age in years (SD) | 34.86 (11.69) | 38.94 (11.81) | t = −1.758 | p = 0.081 |
| Female/male | 21/14 | 55/42 | x2 = 0.115 | p = 0.735 |
| Verbal IQ (MWT-B) | 110.06 (11.96) | 112.73 (13.89) | t = −1.011 | p = 0.314 |
| Number of depressive episodes | 1 | 4,9 (4,5); 2–20 | ||
| Time since diagnosis (months) | 14.66 (15.73) | 121.75 (109.64) | ||
| HDRS mean (standard deviation) | 19,46 (9,94) | 20,85 (8,10) | t = −0.821 | p = 0.413 |
| BDI mean (standard deviation) | 21,06 (10,71) | 22,83 (11,13) | t = −0.799 | p = 0.426 |
| Comorbidities | x2 = 0.003 | p = 0.956 | ||
| No comorbidities | 24 | 67 | ||
| Comorbidities: anxiety disorders | 11 | 30 | ||
| Medication | x2 = 1.415 | p = 0.842 | ||
| No medication | 2 | 4 | ||
| Antidepressive monotherapy | 22 | 54 | ||
| Antipsychotic monotherapy | 0 | 2 | ||
| Combined antidepressive therapy | 5 | 17 | ||
| Combined antidepressive/antipsychotic therapy | 6 | 20 | ||
MDD: major depressive disorder.
SD = standard deviation.
MWT-B: Multiple-choice vocabulary test.
HDRS: Hamilton Depression Rating Scale.
BDI: Beck's Depression Inventory.
* Group differences were computed using independent sample t-test for continuous and Chi-square-test for categorial variables. The level of statistical significance was set at p<0.05.