Table 1.
Demographic and disease characteristics of control and MDD subjects.
| Parameter | Controls (n=17) | MDD (n=18) |
|---|---|---|
|
| ||
| Age (years) (range) | 55 ± 5 (27 – 86) | 57 ± 4 (30 – 87) |
|
| ||
| Gender (F:M) | 7:10 | 9:9 |
|
| ||
| PMI (hrs) (range) | 20 ± 1 (11 – 27) | 20 ± 1 (10 – 26) |
|
| ||
| Tissue pH (range) | 6.74 ± 0.05 (6.32 – 7.01) | 6.57 ± 0.05 (6.24– 6.97) |
|
| ||
| TF (months) (range) | 36 ± 7 (7 – 103) | 19 ± 2 (7 – 43) |
|
| ||
| Time in Ethanol (years) (range) | 11± 0.6 (7 – 14) | 13 ± 0.4 (10 – 16) |
|
| ||
| Cause of death | Cardiovascular disease n=13; asthma n=1; accidental electrocution n=1; homicide by firearm n=1; pulmonary thromboembolism n=1 | Suicide n=8 (firearm n=2; CO poisoning n=2; hanging n=2; drowning n=1; drug overdose n=1 ) |
| Other causes n=10 (cardiovascular disease n=7; pulmonary thromboembolism n=1; homicide by firearm n=1; undetermined n=1) | ||
|
| ||
| Psychiatric Diagnosis | None (n=15) | MDD (n=18) |
| Remote history of alcohol dependence (n=1) | MDD plus alcohol dependence (n=2) | |
| Remote history of alcohol abuse (n=1) | MDD plus polysubstance dependence (n=2) | |
|
| ||
| Duration of MDD (years) (range) | Not applicable | 16.8 ± 3.5 (0.17 – 50) |
|
| ||
| Antidepressant drug history | None | n=9 |
|
| ||
| Postmortem toxicology | None | n=4 (amitriptyline n=1; nortriptyline n=1; sertraline n=2; chlorpromazine n=1) |
Data represent the mean ± S.E.M. Abbreviations: CO - carbon monoxide; F - female; M - male; MDD - major depressive disorder; PMI - Postmortem interval; TF - Time in fixative;