Evaluating the new ICD-10 categories of depressive episode and recurrent depressive disorder

The new ICD-10 categories of 'depressive episode' (F32) and 'recurrent depressive disorder' (F33) were evaluated on the levels of diagnoses, subtypes, syndromes and symptoms. Interrater reliability was analyzed from findings of four independent diagnosticians who rated 100 written psychiatric case records with the help of criteria-related checklists. Agreement was sufficient if patients with and without the diagnosis of a depressive disorder were included (kappa = 0.82), but low in the depressed subsample (kappa = 0.40). Unclear boundaries became apparent for the classification of depressive syndromes as moderate or severe. The results suggest that the ICD-10 concept of depressive disorder is very similar to the well-known international concept of 'major depression'.