Participant demographic and clinical characteristics
| Group; mean (SD)* | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Characteristic | Control, n = 16 | First-episode depression, n = 14 | Remitted-recurrent depression, n = 18 | Treatment-resistant/chronic depression, n = 20 |
| Sex, % female | 61.1 | 62.5 | 88.9 | 80 |
| Age, yr | 43.4 (9.1) | 42.5 (8.7) | 47.3 (9) | 49.6 (7.6) |
| Years of education | 14.2 (3.1) | 13.8 (3.3) | 13.4 (3.1) | 13.2 (3.5) |
| Age at onset, yr†‡ | NA | 41.8 (8.7) | 26.3 (9.4) | 27.9 (8.5) |
| Duration of illness, mo†‡ | NA | 6.8 (4.3) | 245.8 (125.9) | 280.3 (142.4) |
| No. of previous episodes†‡ | NA | 1.0 (0) | 5.1 (4.7) | 6.0 (6.2) |
| HAM-D at scanning†§¶** | 2.8 (1.4) | 12.6 (7.4) | 2.6 (1.5) | 20.9 (4.6) |
| Treatment, % | ||||
| Treatment | ||||
| Antidepressant | ||||
| SSRI or SSNRI† | NA | 100 | 72.2 | 85.0 |
| TCA or MAOI‡ | NA | 6.3 | 16.7 | 40.0 |
| Othersঠ| NA | 6.3 | 22.2 | 55.0 |
| Combinationঠ| NA | 12.5 | 27.8 | 80.0 |
| No antidepressant | NA | 0 | 11.1 | 3.7 |
| Stabilizer‡ | NA | 0 | 16.7 | 30.0 |
| Antipsychoticঠ| NA | 6.3 | 11.1 | 40.0 |
| Benzodiazepine | NA | 50.0 | 33.0 | 50.0 |
Antipsychotic = mainly atypical antipsychotics associated with antidepressants; Combination = designs concomitant use of antidepressants with different mechanisms of action (e.g., SSRI with reboxetine); HAM-D = Hamilton Depression Rating Scale; (19) MAOI = monoamine oxidase inhibitors; NA = not applicable; Others = noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors, noradrenaline and dopamine reuptake inhibitors, tetracyclic antidepressants, mirtazapine, metilfenidate or trazodone; SD = standard deviation; SSNRI = selective serotonin and noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors; SSRI = selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors; Stabilizer = includes anticonvulsants and mostly lithium; TCA = tricyclic antidepressant.
↵* Unless otherwise indicated.
↵† Significant differences between first-episode and remitted-recurrent depression.
↵‡ Significant differences between first-episode and treatment-resistant/chronic depression.
↵§ Significant differences between first-episode depression and control.
↵¶ Significant differences between treatment-resistant/chronic and remitted-recurrent depression.
↵** Significant differences between treatment-resistant/chronic depression and control.