PMID- 24927089 OWN - NLM STAT- PubMed-not-MEDLINE DCOM- 20140617 LR - 20140614 IS - 1365-1501 (Print) IS - 1365-1501 (Linking) VI - 2 IP - 4 DP - 1998 TI - Prevalence of severe depression in private practice depressed outpatients. PG - 261-4 LID - 10.3109/13651509809115371 [doi] AB - The prevalence of severe depression, defined by a score of 50 or less on the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scale, and comparisons between severe and non-severe depression, were studied in 203 consecutive unipolar and bipolar depressed outpatients presenting for treatment of depression in private practice. The prevalence of severe degression was 42%. Of the variables investigated (unipolar/bipolar diagnosis, age at baseline/onset, gender, atypical features, psychotic features, comorbidity, chronicity, recurrences, duration of illness, baseline severity), a bipolar I diagnosis and psychotic features were significantly more common in severe depression, while comorbidity and recurrences were significantly more common in non-severe depression. Contrary to the hypothesis that an affective disorder is a progressive illness, the pattern of severe depression did not show more recurrences, more chronicity, or a longer duration of illness than non-severe depression. The findings might be related to the sample studied, as private patients are usually less severely ill than patients in public or university hospitals. FAU - Benazzi, F AU - Benazzi F AD - Senior Psychiatrist, Department of Psychiatry, Morgagni Public Hospital, Forli, Italy. LA - eng PT - Journal Article PL - England TA - Int J Psychiatry Clin Pract JT - International journal of psychiatry in clinical practice JID - 9709509 OTO - NOTNLM OT - bipolar OT - prevalence OT - private practice OT - severe depression OT - unipolar EDAT- 1998/01/01 00:00 MHDA- 1998/01/01 00:01 CRDT- 2014/06/14 06:00 PHST- 2014/06/14 06:00 [entrez] PHST- 1998/01/01 00:00 [pubmed] PHST- 1998/01/01 00:01 [medline] AID - 10.3109/13651509809115371 [doi] PST - ppublish SO - Int J Psychiatry Clin Pract. 1998;2(4):261-4. doi: 10.3109/13651509809115371.