Chen Hu1, Ying Geng1, Yuan Feng1, Gang Wang2, Gabor S Ungvari3, Helen F K Chiu4, Amy M Kilbourne5, Kelly Y C Lai4, Tian-Mei Si6, Qi-Wen Zheng7, Yi-Ru Fang8, Zheng Lu9, Hai-Chen Yang10, Jian Hu11, Zhi-Yu Chen12, Yi Huang13, Jing Sun14, Xiao-Ping Wang15, Hui-Chun Li16, Jin-Bei Zhang17, Yu-Tao Xiang18. 1. Mood Disorders Center, Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China. 2. Mood Disorders Center, Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China. Electronic address: gangwangdoc@gmail.com. 3. University of Notre Dame Australia/Marian Centre, Perth, Western Australia, Australia. 4. Department of Psychiatry, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China. 5. Veterans Administration Ann Arbor Center for Clinical Management Research, Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA. 6. Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Ministry of Mental Health & Peking University Institute of Mental Health, Beijing, China. 7. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, China. 8. Division of Mood Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China. 9. Shanghai Tongji Hospital, Tongji University Medical School, Shanghai, China. 10. Division of Mood Disorders, Shenzhen Mental Health Centre, Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China. 11. The First Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang province, China. 12. Hangzhou Seventh People׳s Hospital, Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China. 13. West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan province, China. 14. The Affiliated Brain Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu province, China. 15. Mental Health Institute, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan province, China. 16. The Second Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China. 17. The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong province, China. 18. Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macao SAR, China. Electronic address: xyutly@gmail.com.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Little is known about the demographic and clinical differences between early- and late-onset depressions (EOD and LOD, respectively) in Chinese patients. This study examined the demographic and clinical profile of EOD (<=25 years) compared to LOD (>25 years) in China. METHODS: A consecutively recruited sample of 1178 patients with MDD was assessed in 13 psychiatric hospitals or psychiatric units of general hospitals in China nationwide. The cross-sectional data of patients' demographic and clinical characteristics and prescriptions of psychotropic drugs including antidepressants, mood stabilizers, antipsychotics and benzodiazepines were recorded using a standardized protocol and data collection procedure. RESULTS: Two hundred and seventy five (23.3%) of the 1178 patients fulfilled criteria for EOD. In multiple logistic regression analyses, compared to LOD patients their EOD counterparts were more likely to be unmarried and unemployed, had more atypical and psychotic depressive episodes, had bipolar features, while they had more lifetime depressive episodes. CONCLUSIONS: The demographic and more severe clinical features of EOD in Chinese patients were basically consistent with those found in Western populations. The association between socio-cultural factors and development of EOD warrants further studies.
BACKGROUND: Little is known about the demographic and clinical differences between early- and late-onset depressions (EOD and LOD, respectively) in Chinese patients. This study examined the demographic and clinical profile of EOD (<=25 years) compared to LOD (>25 years) in China. METHODS: A consecutively recruited sample of 1178 patients with MDD was assessed in 13 psychiatric hospitals or psychiatric units of general hospitals in China nationwide. The cross-sectional data of patients' demographic and clinical characteristics and prescriptions of psychotropic drugs including antidepressants, mood stabilizers, antipsychotics and benzodiazepines were recorded using a standardized protocol and data collection procedure. RESULTS: Two hundred and seventy five (23.3%) of the 1178 patients fulfilled criteria for EOD. In multiple logistic regression analyses, compared to LOD patients their EOD counterparts were more likely to be unmarried and unemployed, had more atypical and psychotic depressive episodes, had bipolar features, while they had more lifetime depressive episodes. CONCLUSIONS: The demographic and more severe clinical features of EOD in Chinese patients were basically consistent with those found in Western populations. The association between socio-cultural factors and development of EOD warrants further studies.