Concepts of depression: sporadic revolutions of continuous evolution

The classification of depressive disorders has been changing ever since the first descriptions of mood disorders were produced some 2500 years ago. The interest in their classification has recently been revived as a result of the introduction of new types of medicaments for the treatment of the disorders belonging to the spectrum of mood disorders and of the emphasis that has been given to the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders, and in particular depression in primary health care services. The currently used systems of classification contain a relatively large number of categories reserved for depressive disorders and it is to be hoped that the experience and information obtained by the use of these classifications, as well as the results of research into the psychopathology and the effects of treatment of mood disorders, will make it possible to arrive at a simplified and better classification of these conditions. It is likely that this improvement will be incremental, that the development of significantly better classifications will take time and the result of this developmental process will be a classification that will reflect consensus of the mental health professions based on the best available evidence. Copyright 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.