Gender differences in patients presenting with a single depressive episode according to ICD-10

It is unsure whether men and women present with different subtypes of depression. The aim of the study was to compare the prevalence of subtypes of a single depressive episode according to ICD-10 for men and women in a nationwide sample of all patients treated in psychiatric in- or outpatient settings.

All patients who got a diagnosis of a single depressive episode in a period from 1994 to 2002 at the end of the first outpatient treatment ever or at the first discharge from psychiatric hospitalisation ever in Denmark were identified in a nationwide register.

A total of 18,192 patients got a diagnosis of a single depressive episode at the first outpatient contact ever and 8,396 patients got a diagnosis of a single depressive episode at the first psychiatric hospitalisation ever. Significantly more women were treated as outpatients than as inpatients (68% vs. 60.4%). In outpatient settings, women slightly more often presented with milder types of depression than with severe depression, but no gender difference was found in the severity of depressive episodes among hospitalised patients. No differences were found between genders in the prevalence of depression with vs. without melancholic or psychotic symptoms in either of the settings. Women were treated for longer periods in both settings.

The distributions of the subtypes of a single depressive episode are remarkably similar for male and female patients with first contact to the psychiatric health care system.