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Diagnostic stability in depressive disorder as according to ICD-10 in clinical practice.

Kessing LV

Department of Psychiatry, University of Copenhagen, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark. lars.kessing@rh.dk

BACKGROUND: The diagnostic stability of the ICD-10 diagnosis of depressive disorder has not been investigated in clinical practice. SAMPLING AND METHODS: All patients who were diagnosed with depressive disorder at least once in a period from 1994 to 2002 in psychiatric out- or inpatient settings in Denmark were identified in a nationwide register. RESULTS: A total of 39,741 patients were diagnosed with depressive disorder at least once; among these, 81% were diagnosed at the first contact. In approximately 56% of patients, the initial diagnosis of depressive disorder eventually changed during follow-up mainly to the schizophrenic spectrum (16%), but also to personality disorders (9%), neurotic, stress-related and somatoform disorders (8%) and to bipolar disorder (8%). Among the 18% of patients who were later diagnosed with depressive disorder, 23% initially had a diagnosis of adjustment disorder. CONCLUSIONS: When the ICD-10 diagnoses are used in clinical practice, the diagnosis of depressive disorder has a low stability over time. These findings emphasize the need for a longitudinally based diagnostic process in the diagnostic systems.

Published 15 March 2005 in Psychopathology, 38(1): 32-7.
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