RECIDIVISM IN MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER

Background: While recidivism has been well studied in psychotic disord ers, little has specifically been done to determine what differences e xist between patients admitted multiple times compared with once for m ajor depressive disorder (MDD). Method: The records of patients admitt ed with MDD to a large military medical center were reviewed during th e years 1991-1995. Recidivists were 46 consecutive patients admitted t hree or more times during the period. The comparison sample was 50 con secutive patients admitted for the first time in 1993 without subseque nt admission to our hospital. Patient groups were compared for age, ge nder, comorbidity, and the presence of medical conditions contributing to their admission. Results: Repeat hospital admissions for MDD were common. Recidivists were more likely to be older, suffer recurrent dep ression, receive a personality disorder diagnosis, receive ECT or have a medical condition contributing to their admission, than patients ad mitted once. Alcohol use disorders or other Axis I disorders did not p redict recidivism. Conclusions: For some patients the morbidity of MDD in the form of frequent admissions is considerable, perhaps as severe as for patients with psychotic disorders. Frequent hospitalizations m ay result from recurrent MDD with or without personality disorder.