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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2015 Nov 1.
Published in final edited form as: Psychol Med. 2014 Apr 9;44(15):3275–3288. doi: 10.1017/S0033291714000749

Table 1.

Main features of prior published latent class analyses (LCAs) of depression

Author
citation
Sample
size
Age (years) Gender
(%
female)
Source
of subjects
Symptoms
used for
LCA
Summary of results
Sullivan et al. (1998) 2836 Mean 33.3 59.4 NCS population lifetime worst
 episodes
14 DSM-III-R Severe typical (4%,
 11.7%)
Mild typical
 (6%, 15.8%)
Severe atypical (2%,
 6.0%)
Mild atypical
 (4%, 10.8%)
Intermediate
 (11%, 31.1%)
Minimal
 symptoms
 (6%, 23.3%)
Lamers et al. (2012) 805 ≥18 64.2 NCS-R 12-month MDD Nine DSM-IV symptoms of
 depression listed in the CIDI but
 separated weight changes from
 appetite changes, yielding a total
 of 14 symptoms
Severe typical
 (44.9%)
Moderate
 typical (24.8%)
Severe atypical
 (15.6%)
Moderate
 (14.6%)
Carragher et al. (2009) 12 180 ≥18 61.7 Population sample NESARC Seven of the nine DSM-IV criteria;
 AUDADIS-IV 21 dichotomous
 symptom item questions that
 separately operationalized the
 nine DSM-IV ‘A’ criteria for MD
Severely
 depressed
 (40.9%)
Psychosomatic
 (30.6%)
Cognitive-emotional
 (10.2%)
Non-depressed
 (18.3%)
Kendler et al. (1996) 2163 Mean 30.1 100 Population-based twin registry
 in the state of Virginia
14 disaggregated DSM-III-R
 symptoms
Class 1 (52.2%) 2/3
 non-depressed
Class 2 (4.6%)
 mild atypical
Class 3 (21.6%) mild
 typical
Class 4 (7.2%)
 mild typical
 somatic
Class 5 (8.9%)
 typical
 moderate
Class 6 (3.9%)
 atypical
 severe
Class 7
 (1.6%)
 typical
 severe
Sullivan et al. (2002) 2941 Mean 35.1 25.2 Male–male and male–female
 twin pairs from the
 population-based VTR,
 subjects endorsed at least one
 MD symptom in the prior year
14 DSM-III-R MD symptoms Class 1 typical
 (6%)
Class 2 atypical
 (3%)
Class 3
 non-appetitive
 (4%)
Class 4 minor
 typical (5%)
Class 5 mood
 only (17%)
Class 6 overeat
 (2%)
Class 7
 agitate
 (6%)
Comparison
 group (57%)
Eaton et al. (1989) 6812 ECA university-based
 researchers in five community
 mental health center
 catchment area populations
Dysphoria and eight DIS/DSM-III
 symptoms
Normal (83%) Intermediate
 (15%)
Severe (2%)
(Lamers et al. 2010) 818 Mean 41.7 (range
 18–65)
66.7 DSM-IV current (1-month
 recency) MD or minor
 depression NESDA
16 symptoms CIDI and atypical and
 melancholic features from IDS-SR
Severe
 melancholic
 (46.3%)
Severe atypical
 (24.6%)
Moderate severity
 (29.1%)
Maes et al. (1992) 80 Mean 46.5 0 Clinical samples DSM-III
 dysthymic disorder, MD with
 (out) melancholia and/or
 psychotic features
SCID 14 items Non-vital (56.3%) Vital (43.8%)
Schotte et al. (1997) 220 Mean 45.6 77.0 Unipolar depressed in-patients SCID for DSM-III 14 items Melancholic (45%) Non-melancholic
 (55%)
Hybels et al. (2009) 366 ≥ 60 (mean 69.1 66.1 DSM-IV MDD Ten items of the MADRS Cluster 1 (47.2%)
 reduced appetite
Cluster 2
 (27.1%)
moderate
Cluster 3 (18.9%)
 mild sadness
Cluster 4 (6.8%)
 severe
Davidson et al. (1989) 130 Mean 42.3 (range
 20–69)
46.9 RDC major or minor/
 intermittent depression
Internal variables drawn from the
 HAMD, the SCL-58 and the
 Hollister–Overall CDC
Type 1 mild
 melancholia
 (20%)
Type 2 obsessive-anxious
 (19.2%)
Type 3 mild
 depression
 (22.3%)
Type 4
 agitation,
 mood
 worsening
 later in the
 day (20.8%)
Type 5 severe
 atypical
 (17.7%)
Grove et al. (1987) 569 Mean 39.3 58.2 RDC unipolar depression 36 affective symptoms on the SADS Cluster 1 nuclear
 (endogenous)
 depression
 (48.4%)
Cluster 2
 non-nuclear
 group (51.6%)
Parker et al. (1999) 269 Mean 41.8
 (non-melancholic
 only)
Clinical samples DSM-III-R MD
 <2 years (in- and out-patients)
16 clinical features (six endogeneity
 symptoms+two psychomotor
 symptoms+five retardation and
 agitation +CORE scale scores)
Putative psychotic
 (11%)
Melancholic
 (34%)
Non-melancholic
 (55%)
Andreasen & Grove (1982) 228 58.8 Clinical samples interviewed by
 the SADS, diagnosed by RDC
SADS 106 symptoms grouped into
 eight content scales+symptoms of
 antisocial behavior and substance
 abuse and a 100-point GAS
 combining social functioning and
 psychopathology
Severe
 endogenous
 (43.4%)
Less severe
 (29.4%)
Bipolar (11.0%) Psychotic
 (4.4%)
Residue
 (11.8%)
Haslam & Beck (1993) 400 63.5 Clinical samples out-patients
 diagnosed by SCID
BDI 21 items General
 depression
 (41.5%)
Severe
 melancholic
 (40.3%)
Generalized anxiety
 (10.3%)
Mild (8.0%)

NCS, National Comorbidity Survey; NCS-R, National Comorbidity Survey Replication; MDD, major depressive disorder; NESARC, National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions; AUDADIS-IV, Alcohol Use Disorder and Associated Disabilities Interview Schedule-IV; MADRS, Montgomery–Asberg Depression Rating Scale; MD, major depression; VTR, Virginia Twin Registry; ECA, Epidemiologic Catchment Area; DIS, Diagnostic Interview Schedule; IDS-SR, Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology, Self-Report; RDC, Research Diagnostic Criteria; HAMD, Hamilton Depression Rating Scale; SCL-58, Symptom Checklist-58; CDC, Composite Diagnostic Checklist; SADS, Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia; GAS; Global Assessment Scale; BDI, Beck Depression Inventory.