Table 1.
Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of participants and non-participants in the follow-up study
| Variables at the initial assessment | Participants | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No N = 119 |
Yes N = 119 |
test | df | p | |
| Age | 40.8 (12.2) | 44.4 (12.6) | t = 2.24 | 236 | 0.03 |
| Sex (female) (N,%) | 83 (69.7%) | 83 (69.7%) | χ2 = 0.00 | 1 | 1.00 |
| Education, higher than high school (N,%) | 49 (45.4%) | 61 (51.3%) | χ2 = 0.79 | 1 | 0.38 |
| Marital Status (N,%) | |||||
| Single | 40 (33.6%) | 43 (36.1%) | χ2 = 0.89 | 2 | 0.64 |
| Separated/divorced/widowed | 20 (24.4%) | 33 (27.7%) | |||
| Married/significant other | 50 (42.0%) | 43 (36.1%) | |||
| Having children (N,%) | 71 (59.7%) | 65 (54.6%) | χ2 = 0.62 | 1 | 0.43 |
| Working full or part time (N,%) | 26 (21.8%) | 18 (15.1%) | χ2 = 1.78 | 1 | 0.18 |
| Clinical variables | |||||
| Initial severity of the MDE (SCID) (N,%) | |||||
| Mild | 20 (16.8%) | 24 (20.2%) | χ2 = 0.45 | 2 | 0.80 |
| Moderate | 77 (64.7%) | 74 (62.2%) | |||
| Severe | 22 (18.5%) | 21 (17.6%) | |||
| Age at onset (mean, SD) | 23.5 (12.1) | 25.2 (11.8) | t = 1.07 | 236 | 0.29 |
| Duration of MDDa (mean, SD) | 17.7 (11.0) | 19.3 (12.1) | t = 1.04 | 236 | 0.30 |
| Length of index MDEb (mean, SD) | 40.9 (52.2) | 37.7 (48.1) | t = 0.50 | 236 | 0.62 |
| MDE, chronic | 61 (51.3%) | 56 (47.1%) | χ2 = 0.52 | 1 | 0.60 |
| Number of previous MDEs | |||||
| None | 26 (21.8%) | 26 (21.8%) | χ2 = 0.77 | 3 | 0.86 |
| One to two | 26 (21.8%) | 29 (24.4%) | |||
| Three to five | 25 (21.0%) | 20 (16.8%) | |||
| More than five | 42 (35.3%) | 44 (37.0%) | |||
| Past history of suicide attempts | 44 (37.0%) | 46 (38.7%) | χ2 = 0.07 | 1 | 0.79 |
| Family history of mood disorder in first degree relatives | 70 (61.4%) | 66 (56.9%) | χ2 = 0.49 | 1 | 0.51 |
| Anxiety disorder, current | 72 (60.5%) | 67 (56.3%) | χ2 = 0.51 | 1 | 0.60 |
| Number of comorbidities in Axis III | |||||
| None | 49 (41.2%) | 42 (35.3%) | χ2 = 1.73 | 2 | 0.42 |
| One or two | 39 (32.8%) | 37 (31.1%) | |||
| Three or more | 31 (26.1%) | 40 (33.6%) | |||
| Personality disorder, severe | 8 (6.7%) | 14 (11.8%) | χ2 = 0.17 | 1 | 0.19 |
| GAF (mean, SD) | 53.3 (5.9) | 53.5 (5.2) | t = 0.33 | 236 | 0.74 |
| History of childhood maltreatment | |||||
| Emotional abuse | Not assessed | 67 (56.3%) | |||
| Physical abuse | 47 (39.5%) | ||||
| Sexual abuse | 42 (35.3%) | ||||
| Emotional neglect | 75 (63.0%) | ||||
| Physical neglect | 28 (23.5%) | ||||
aCalculated in years; bCalculated in months
MDE Major depressive episode, MDD Major Depressive Disorder, GAF Global Assessment of Functioning, SCID Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV TR disorders