MINOR DEPRESSION IN A COHORT OF YOUNG-ADULTS IN ISRAEL

Background: A diagnosis of minor depression was considered for DSM-IV. Mild depression is thought to be common in primary care settings and in the community, but studies of the validity of minor depression as a separate diagnostic category are few. Methods: Minor depression as de fined by Research Diagnostic Criteria was assessed by psychiatrists us ing a modified Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia-Life time version in a cohort of 5200 young adults in Israel. Subjects with year-prevalent minor depression were compared with subjects with majo r depression or generalized anxiety disorder and with controls on aspe cts of psychopathologic condition, psychosocial functioning, help-seek ing behaviors, and demographic correlates. Results: Symptomatically, m inor depression appeared to be a mild version of major depression. Min or depression was associated with good teenage and general social func tioning, but also with absence from work, separation or divorce, recen t impairment in overall functioning, and help-seeking. Conclusions: Th e results lend support for including minor depression or expanding sev erity modifiers in future classifications to better capture the phenom enon of subthreshold depression.