The Course and Outcome of Depression in Different Cultures: 10-Year Follow-Up of the WHO Collaborative Study on the Assessment of Depressive Disorders

The suicide data emerging from this study show that a quarter of all patients attempted suicide during follow-up, of whom 11% completed suicide, & that the proportions were consistent across diagnoses & sites. Over 21% showed no full remission from depression. 36% of the patients showed normal functioning over 95% of the follow-up period. Twenty-four percent came into the worst outcome category suffering impairment for over half of the follow-up period.