Incidence of depressive syndromes in a Danish county. The Aarhus County investigation

On the basis of a material from a cumulative registration of the psychiatric morbidity in a geographically delimited population group - the County of Aarhus with approximately 175,000 inhabitants over the age of 15 years - the frequency of depressive syndromes in psychiatric and other medical services was investigated. The material fulfils the following criteria: During the calendar years 1960 to 1964, the patients 1) were residents in the County of Aarhus, 2) had attained the age of 15 years or more, 3) had contacted at least one of the services which systematically sent information to the psychiatric register; and 4) based on an evaluation of all available data, had a main diagnosis of manic-depressive psychosis, psychogenic depression or neurotic depression. An average yearly registration rate of 1.30 per 1,000 men and 3.28 per 1,000 women was found (males: manic-depressive psychosis 0.60, psychogenic depression 0.23 and neurotic depression 0.47; females: manic-depressive psychosis 1.00, psychogenic depression 0.88 and neurotic depression 1.40). The three diagnostic groups show differences in age distribution, geographical pattern and distribution by marital status.