A major depression prognosis calculator based on episode duration.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Epidemiological data have shown that the probability of recovery from an episode declines with increasing episode duration, such that the duration of an episode may be an important factor in determining whether treatment is required. The objective of this study is to incorporate episode duration data into a calculator predicting the probability of recovery during a specified interval of time.

Methods

Data from two Canadian epidemiological studies were used, both studies were components of a program undertaken by the Canadian national statistical agency. One component was a cross-sectional psychiatric epidemiological survey (n = 36,984) and the other was a longitudinal study (n = 17,262).

Results

A Weibull distribution provided a good description of episode

SUBMITTER: Patten SB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1534018 | biostudies-literature | 2006 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature