BACKGROUND Unlike major depression, the psychosocial impact of dysthymia has received far less research attention. This study attempted to assess the psychosocial consequences of dysthymia. METHODS The sample consisted of 30 married patients with DSM-IV dysthymic disorder and a matched control group of 30 married patients with recurrent major depressive disorder (RDD), diagnosed using structu...

BACKGROUND Childhood adversity places individuals with major depression at risk for anxiety and dysthymia co-morbidity. The goal of the present paper is to broaden this area of research by examining specificity between the type of adversity (e.g. abuse versus neglect/indifference) and the resulting co-morbid disorder (e.g. anxiety versus dysthymia co-morbidity). METHOD The volunteer sample co...

OBJECTIVES Assessment of atypical symptoms in various types of depressive disorders, using the author's questionnaire for symptoms of atypical depression. METHODS The study involved 70 patients with a diagnosis of depressive episode in the course of recurrent depression, 54 patients with a diagnosis of depressive episode in bipolar disorder (BD) and 58 patients with a diagnosis of dysthymia. ...

Aim. Assessment of atypical symptoms in various types of depressive disorders using the author’s questionnaire for symptoms of atypical depression. Methods. The study involved 70 patients with a diagnosis of depressive episode in the course of recurrent depression, 54 patients with a diagnosis of depressive episode in bipolar disorder (BD) and 58 patients with a diagnosis of dysthymia. To asses...

This study examined transdiagnostic features of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and dysthymia in an outpatient clinical sample. Fifteen patients who met DSM-IV criteria for GAD and twenty-one patients who met DSM-IV criteria for dysthymia but who did not have comorbid anxiety disorder were evaluated utilizing the Rorschach. Salient clinical variables were then compared. Results showed that p...

BACKGROUND Since its introduction in DSM-III, the validity of dysthymia has been debated. Our objective is to further examine the concept of dysthymia in an outpatient sample, and explore whether its constituents can be meaningfully apportioned. METHODS 318 patients attending the Black Dog Institute Depression Clinic were assessed by the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview, and comp...

This issue was addressed in the Medical Outcomes Study, which compared the functioning and well-being of patients with (1) depressive symptoms, (2) a depressive disorder (major depression, dysthymia, or major depression plus dysthymia), and (3) eight current chronic medical conditions (hypertension, diabetes, angina, advanced coronary heart disease, arthritis, back problems, lung problems, or a...

BACKGROUND The high co-occurrence between borderline personality disorder and affective disorders has led many to believe that borderline personality disorder should be considered as part of an affective spectrum. The aim of the present study was to examine whether the prevalence of affective disorders are higher for patients with borderline personality disorder than for patients with other per...

Traditional herbal (Kampo) medicines have been used since ancient times to treat patients with mental disorders. In the present report, we describe four patients with dysthymia successfully treated with Kampo medicines: Kamiuntanto (KUT). These four patients fulfilled the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) criteria for dysthymic disorder with easy fatigability and sl...

Results: Depressive disorders were diagnosed in 84 (78.5%) patients, including: a major depressive episode in 31 (29%), dysthymia in 30 (28%), and an episode of depression with melancholic features in 23 (21.5%). Only 23 (21.5%) patients met no criteria for a mental disorder on the M.I.N.I. There were statistically significant differences among mean BDI scores in the following groups: depressio...