Thought Disorder in Depression
BENJAMIN M. IANZITO M.D.1,
REMI J. CADORET M.D.2, , and
DANIEL D. PUGH M.D.3
1 Chief Psychiatrist, U.S. Air Force Hospital, Chanute Air Force Base, Rantoul, Ill
2 Associate Professor of Psychiatry, University of Iowa School of Medicine, Iowa City, Iowa
3 Inpatient Director, Malcolm Bliss Mental Health Center, and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Mo.
The authors investigated abnormalities in the thinking of depressed patients and present some preliminary data on the prognostic value of thought disorder in unipolar depressive illness. They conclude that both content disturbances and formal thought disorder may occur in primary depressive illness during episodes severe enough to require hospitalization. They also conclude that formal thought disorder at the time of admission seems to predict a more severe episode of depression and may help create a subdivision of depressive illness analagous to that proposed for schizophrenia.
