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Recovery from depression: risk or reality?
J Angst1, D J Kupfer, J F Rosenbaum
1Psychiatric University Hospital, Zürich, Switzerland.
Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica
|June 1, 1996
Summary
Depression recovery is possible, though recurrence is common. This review examines lifetime prognosis, quality of life, and symptom improvement for better depression management.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Clinical Psychology
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Depression has a high recurrence rate across patient populations.
- Past research prioritized depression onset criteria over outcome criteria.
- Patients are concerned about lifelong depression versus complete recovery.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review issues surrounding recovery from depression.
- To examine the lifetime prognosis of depression.
- To address outcome criteria and clinical management.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on depression recovery.
- Examination of the Zürich follow-up study data.
- Analysis of quality of life and symptomatic improvement as outcome measures.
Main Results:
- Depression prognosis varies, with recurrence being a significant factor.
- Assessing recovery requires consideration of both symptom reduction and quality of life.
- Clinical trial results have implications for managing depression in practice.
Conclusions:
- Complete recovery from depression is achievable for many patients.
- A comprehensive assessment of depression outcome should include quality of life.
- Further research and clinical focus on depression recovery are warranted.