BACKGROUND: Atypical depression (AD) exhibits distinct patterns of gender,bipolar-II disorder, genetic, and neuro-biological measures. Using prospective data from a community sample, this paper identifies criteria (and correlates) for an AD syndrome that maximizes the association with female sex and bipolar-II. METHODS: The Zurich cohort study is composed of 591 subjects selected from a population-based cohort of young adults in the canton of Zurich in Switzerland, screened in 1978 and followed with six interviews through 1999. Seven definitions of atypical depression were tested, using varying combinations of vegetative symptoms and mood reactivity. RESULTS: The atypical definitions using 2 of 3 (fatigue, overeating, oversleeping) or 2 of 2 (overeating, oversleeping) vegetative symptoms showed the strongest association with gender, bipolarity, and family history of mania. The 2/3 definition was chosen for further analysis due to its high sensitivity for identifying these characteristics. This syndrome had cumulated weighted prevalence of 16.4% (males 9.7%, females 23%); when associated with major depressive episodes, 8.2% (males 3.2%, females 15.1%). AD patients were characterized by high treatment rates, severity, and work impairment, early age of onset and long illness. AD was comorbid with social phobia, binge eating, neurasthenia, migraine headache, and subjective cognitive impairment.
BACKGROUND:Atypical depression (AD) exhibits distinct patterns of gender,bipolar-II disorder, genetic, and neuro-biological measures. Using prospective data from a community sample, this paper identifies criteria (and correlates) for an AD syndrome that maximizes the association with female sex and bipolar-II. METHODS: The Zurich cohort study is composed of 591 subjects selected from a population-based cohort of young adults in the canton of Zurich in Switzerland, screened in 1978 and followed with six interviews through 1999. Seven definitions of atypical depression were tested, using varying combinations of vegetative symptoms and mood reactivity. RESULTS: The atypical definitions using 2 of 3 (fatigue, overeating, oversleeping) or 2 of 2 (overeating, oversleeping) vegetative symptoms showed the strongest association with gender, bipolarity, and family history of mania. The 2/3 definition was chosen for further analysis due to its high sensitivity for identifying these characteristics. This syndrome had cumulated weighted prevalence of 16.4% (males 9.7%, females 23%); when associated with major depressive episodes, 8.2% (males 3.2%, females 15.1%). ADpatients were characterized by high treatment rates, severity, and work impairment, early age of onset and long illness. AD was comorbid with social phobia, binge eating, neurasthenia, migraine headache, and subjective cognitive impairment.
Authors: Ania Korszun; Valentina Moskvina; Shyama Brewster; Nick Craddock; François Ferrero; Michael Gill; Ian Richard Jones; Lisa Anne Jones; Wolfgang Maier; Ole Mors; Michael J Owen; Martin Preisig; Theodore Reich; Marcella Rietschel; Anne Farmer; Peter McGuffin Journal: Arch Gen Psychiatry Date: 2004-05
Authors: Carlos Blanco; Oriana Vesga-López; Jonathan W Stewart; Shang-Min Liu; Bridget F Grant; Deborah S Hasin Journal: J Clin Psychiatry Date: 2011-09-06 Impact factor: 4.384
Authors: B Silverstein; T Edwards; A Gamma; V Ajdacic-Gross; W Rossler; J Angst Journal: Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol Date: 2012-07-03 Impact factor: 4.328