Severity of Depressive Episodes According to ICD-10: Prediction of Risk of Relapse and Suicide

All psychiatric inpatients in Denmark who had received a diagnosis of a single depressive episode at their first discharge between 1994-1999 were identified. The risk of relapse & the risk of suicide were compared for patients discharged with an ICD-10 diagnosis of a single mild (1103 patients), moderate (3182 patients) or severe (2914 patients) depressive episode. The risk of relapse & the risk of suicide were significantly different for the 3 types of depression – increasing from mild to moderate to severe depressive episode. (15 refs.)