Am J Psychiatry 1988; 145:233-237
Copyright © 1988 by American Psychiatric Association
Depressions secondary to other psychiatric disorders and medical illnesses
G Winokur, DW Black and A Nasrallah
Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa College of Medicine, Iowa City 52242.
The authors studied 401 patients with depressions secondary to psychiatric
illnesses (substance abuse disorders or somatoform, anxiety, or personality
disorders) or depressions secondary to medical illnesses. They found that
the patients with depressions secondary to psychiatric illnesses had an
earlier age at onset, were more likely to have suicidal thoughts or to have
made suicide attempts, were less likely to have memory problems, were less
improved with treatment and more likely to relapse on follow-up, and had
more alcoholism in their families than patients with depressions secondary
to medical illnesses. Depressions secondary to medical illnesses seem to
fit the category of reactive depression, and depressions secondary to
psychiatric illnesses fit the definition of neurotic depression.
