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Meta-review of depressive subtyping models
Baumeister Harald1, Parker Gordon
1Black Dog Institute, Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick, Australia. baumeister@psychologie.uni-freiburg.de
Journal of Affective Disorders
|September 3, 2011
Summary
Dissatisfaction with major depression diagnosis prompts specific subtype models. This meta-review maps 15 models, categorizing them by symptoms, causes, onset, gender, and treatment resistance.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Clinical Psychology
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Major depression lacks specificity, leading to proposed depressive subtyping models.
- Current diagnostic constructs for depression may not adequately inform treatment decisions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review and map dominant depressive subtype models.
- To highlight the definitions, overlaps, and evidence base for various depression subtypes.
Main Methods:
- A comprehensive meta-review of published reviews on depressive subtypes.
- Database searches in Medline and EMBASE for reviews between 2000 and 2011.
- Selection of 754 relevant reviews from over four thousand initial results.
Main Results:
- Identified fifteen distinct depressive subtype models.
- Categorized subtypes into five groups: symptom-based, aetiologically-based, time of onset-based, gender-based, and treatment-resistant.
- Provided an overview of definitions, bio-psycho-social correlates, and treatment evidence for each subtype.
Conclusions:
- Depressive subtyping offers a promising approach to address the non-specificity of major depression.
- Future subtyping models must demonstrate differential impacts on causes and treatments to advance clinical utility.
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