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The heterogeneity of “major depression”
David P Goldberg. World Psychiatry, 2011-10-01
Topic: Drug trials: efficacy and safety
They concluded that their results “challenge our understanding of major depression as a homogeneous categorical entity”. Given these findings, to declare that all those satisfying the DSM criteria for the diagnosis of major depression are suffering from the same disorder seems like magical thinking. We know that many milder cases remit without specific treatment, suggesting that they are indeed homeostatic responses to life stress 9. Depression may be a toxic reaction to drugs or may result from endocrine disorders such as myxoedema or Cushing's syndrome. Successful treatment of the depression is associated with a lower mortality and better collaboration with the necessary physical treatments. The special task of the physician is to reach agreement with the patient that he/she is indeed depressed, and to explain the effects that this is having on the quality of the patient's life, the severity of any pains that are experienced, and the disability associated with the physical illness.
Key findings
- They concluded that their results “challenge our understanding of major depression as a homogeneous categorical entity”.
- Given these findings, to declare that all those satisfying the DSM criteria for the diagnosis of major depression are suffering from the same disorder seems like magical thinking.
- We know that many milder cases remit without specific treatment, suggesting that they are indeed homeostatic responses to life stress 9.
- Depression may be a toxic reaction to drugs or may result from endocrine disorders such as myxoedema or Cushing's syndrome.
- Successful treatment of the depression is associated with a lower mortality and better collaboration with the necessary physical treatments.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 40/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record and multi-centre collaboration, so those were left out: it earned 23 of the 58 points we could judge it on, which is 40 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (World Psychiatry) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2011 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 21991283) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Points | 23 / 58 | Scored on 11 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 23 of the 58 points we could judge it on is 40 out of 100. |
| Total | 40 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
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Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Goldberg, D. P. (2011). The heterogeneity of “major depression”. World Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2051-5545.2011.tb00061.x
Vancouver
Goldberg DP. The heterogeneity of “major depression”. World Psychiatry. 2011. doi:10.1002/j.2051-5545.2011.tb00061.x. PMID: 21991283.
BibTeX
@article{goldberg2011-21991283,
author = {Goldberg, David P},
title = {{The heterogeneity of “major depression”}},
journal = {World Psychiatry},
year = {2011},
doi = {10.1002/j.2051-5545.2011.tb00061.x},
pmid = {21991283},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2051-5545.2011.tb00061.x}
}
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