Life course of depressive illness and characteristics of current episode in patients with double depression.

It has been suggested recently that major depression and concurrent chronic minor depression, or "double depression" (DD), may have a different course and presentation from major depression alone (MDA). The present study compares 41 patients with DD and 60 patients with MDA for differences in life course of depressive illness and characteristics of the current depressive episode. Patients with DD, as compared with patients with MDA, had an earlier age of onset of mood disturbance, more episodes of major depression, and more frequent concurrent anxiety disorders. However, patients with DD were not significantly different from patients with MDA who had greater than a 6-month history of mood disturbance, with regard to life course of illness variable. The characteristics of current depression in patients with DD and MDA were not significantly different. The clinical and theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.