One year clinical and psychosocial outcomes of early-onset chronic depression

Background: Results from short-term treatment studies have demonstrated the efficacy of antidepressant medications for outpatients with early-onset chronic depression. However, scant data exists regarding the long-term outcome of these patients treated for this disorder. Methods: The author conducted a one-year naturalistic follow-up study of 50 outpatients with early-onset, chronic depression, who were treated in a university-based psychopharmacology research clinic. Assessments were conducted blind to the patients' histories. Results: Forty-eight percent of the total sample reported 9-12 months of sustained euthymia (Months Well). Among the patients who recovered, 50% relapsed. Limitations: The major limitations of this study were its small sample size and lack of a comparison group. Conclusions: These results data demonstrate that despite initial response, many outpatients with chronic depression seem to relapse after leaving university-based psychopharmacology centers. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.