Clinical implications of "subthreshold" depressive symptoms
Clinical implications of "subthreshold" depressive symptoms
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DOI：
10.1037//0021-843x.109.2.345
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发表时间：
2000-05-01
影响因子：
4.6
通讯作者：
Zeiss, A
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Lewinsohn, PM;Solomon, A;Zeiss, A
关于可诊断的抑郁症是否存在于阈下抑郁症状的连续体上，或者是否代表一种明显不同的现象，存在着激烈的争论。为了解决这个问题，我们在 3 个大型社区样本（青少年、成人和老年人；N = 3,003）中检查了多种功能障碍指标（社会心理困难、心理健康治疗史以及重度抑郁症和药物滥用/依赖的未来发生率）作为抑郁症状程度的函数。抑郁症状的增加与心理社会功能障碍以及重度抑郁和物质使用障碍的发生率的增加有关。这些发现表明，(a) 抑郁症状的临床意义并不取决于是否超过了重度抑郁诊断阈值，(b) 抑郁症最好被概念化为一个连续体。讨论了本研究的局限性。
There is active debate regarding whether diagnosable depression exists on a continuum with subthreshold depressive symptoms or represents a categorically distinct phenomenon. To address this question, multiple indexes of dysfunction (psychosocial difficulties, mental health treatment history, and future incidence of major depression and substance abuse/dependence) were examined as a function of the extent of depressive symptoms in 3 large community samples (adolescent, adult, and older adult; N = 3,003). Increasing levels of depressive symptoms were associated with increasing levels of psychosocial dysfunction and incidence of major depression and substance use disorders. These findings suggest that (a) the clinical significance of depressive symptoms does not depend on crossing the major depressive diagnostic threshold and (b) depression may best be conceptualized as a continuum. Limitations of the present study are discussed.