Table 3.
Clinical characteristics of the remitted melancholic and non-melancholic MDD patients
| Clinical Characteristics | Melancholic MDD (N=33) |
Non-Melancholic MDD (N=30) |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| ||||
| Number of previous MDEs | Mean | SD | Mean | SD |
| 1 | 8/33 | 10/30 | ||
|
| ||||
| 2 | 9/33 | 7/30 | ||
|
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| 3 | 8/33 | 6/30 | ||
|
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| 4 | 3/33 | 3/30 | ||
|
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| 5 | 4/33 | 2/30 | ||
|
| ||||
| 6 or more | 1/33 | 2/30 | ||
|
| ||||
| Average number of previous MDEs | 2.8 | 1.7 | 3.8 | 7.7 |
| (range: 1–9) | (range: 1–44) | |||
|
| ||||
| Age of onset | 23.9 | 9.9 | 21.0 | 9.4 |
| (range: 11–49) | (range: 8–44) | |||
|
| ||||
| Last and most severe MDE details | Mean | SD | Mean | SD |
|
| ||||
| Average length of MDE (months)1 | 20.6 | 23.5 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| (range: 2–96) | (range: 1–36) | |||
|
| ||||
| Average time in remission (months) | 30.9 | 28.6 | 34.6 | 51.0 |
| (range: 6–140) | (range: 6–282) | |||
|
| ||||
| Average MADRS score for MDE2 | 37.3 | 5.1 | 32.8 | 5.9 |
| (range: 26–48) | (range: 20–44) | |||
|
| ||||
| No psychotropic medication since (months) | 53.1 | 73.6 | 48.0 | 64.0 |
| (range: 2–372) | (range: 4–282) | |||
|
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| Previous treatment | N | N | ||
|
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| SSRI antidepressant | 29/33 | 22/30 | ||
|
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| SNRI antidepressant | 1/33 | 1/30 | ||
|
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| Tricyclic antidepressant | 4/33 | 1/30 | ||
|
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| Mirtazapine | 0/33 | 1/30 | ||
|
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| Unknown class of antidepressant | 5/33 | 3/30 | ||
|
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| Benzodiazepines only | 0/33 | 1/30 | ||
|
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| No antidepressant medication | 2/33 | 2/30 | ||
|
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| CBT | 10/33 | 4/30 | ||
|
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| Self-guided CBT via internet, books | 3/33 | 1/30 | ||
|
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| Hypnotherapy | 0/33 | 1/30 | ||
|
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| Counselling | 17/33 | 12/30 | ||
|
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| Suicide attempts | Mean | SD | Mean | SD |
|
| ||||
| 0.09 | 0.29 | 0.40 | 1.10 | |
| (range: 0–1) | (range: 0–5) | |||
|
| ||||
| Lifetime axis-I comorbidity 3 | N | N | ||
|
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| Panic disorder with agoraphobia | 1/33 | 0/30 | ||
|
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| Bulimia nervosa | 1/33 | 0/30 | ||
|
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| Post-traumatic stress disorder | 1/33 | 0/30 | ||
|
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| No life-time co-morbidity | 30/33 | 30/30 | ||
|
| ||||
| Family history | N | N | ||
|
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| First degree relative with MDD | 17/33 | 20/30 | ||
|
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| No family member with history of MDD | 13/33 | 9/30 | ||
|
| ||||
| First degree relative with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder | 3/33 | 1/30 | ||
All MDD participants stopped medication before the required washout phase. Means and standard deviations are reported and/or the number of cases. Remitted melancholic and non-melancholic MDD participants did not significantly differ on number previous episodes, age of onset, average time in remission, average time since last taking psychotropic medications, number of patients previously treated, number of suicide attempts, lifetime axis-I comorbidity, or family history (Contingency Coefficient<0.21, p(unc)>0.09; t<1.55, p(unc)>0.13). Furthermore, there were no differences between the remitted melancholic and non-melancholic MDD participants regarding previous treatment with SSRIs, SNRIs, tricyclics, mirtazapine, or CBT (Contingency Coefficient<0.21, p(unc)>0.10). CBT, cognitive behavioural therapy; MDD, major depressive disorder; MDE, major depressive episode; SD, standard deviations; SSRI, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor; SNRI, serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor.
Significantly different between the remitted melancholic and non-melancholic MDD groups (t(61)=2.41, p(unc)=0.02).
Significantly different between the remitted melancholic and non-melancholic MDD groups (t(61)=3.28, p(unc)=0.002).
All co-morbid disorders were fully remitted at the time of study and none were likely to be the primary cause of the depressive episodes.