Familial Subtypes of Unipolar Depression: a Prospective Study of Familial Pure Depressive Disease Compared to Depression Spectrum Disease

Major depressives were systematically studied at index admission & prospectively followed up for 5 years. Primary unipolar depressives with a family history of alcoholism differ from depressives with a family history of depression only in having more familial anxiety & somatization disorder, more divorce, more suicide attempts, more negative life events & needed more time to recover from the index episode. In the 5-year follow up they are more likely to develop alcoholism & drug abuse. (22 refs)