Time to initial medical presentation in a first-admission group with depression

This paper examines the interval between the onset of depressive illness and subsequent medical presentation in a group of patients undergoing their first psychiatric admission with moderate to severe depression. The average preconsultation interval was 76 days, compared with an average time from consultation to the commencement of adequate treatment of 40 days. The time to initial consultation was found to correlate significantly with neuroticism, but not with sociodemographic factors. This study suggests that neuroticism may act as a predictor of poor outcome in depressive illness through its impact on help-seeking behaviour.