TY - JOUR

T1 - Neuroticism in remitted major depression

T2 - Elevated with early onset but not late onset of depression

AU - Gade, Anders

AU - Kristoffersen, Marius

AU - Kessing, Lars Vedel

PY - 2015

Y1 - 2015

N2 - BACKGROUND: The personality trait of neuroticism is strongly related to depression, but depression is etiologically heterogeneous. Late-onset depression (LOD) may be more closely related to vascular factors, and previous studies of neuroticism in LOD versus early-onset depression (EOD) have not been consistent. METHOD: We examined neuroticism, extraversion and perceived stress in 88 fully remitted depressed patients with a mean age of 60 years and with a history of hospitalization for major depressive disorder. Patients were divided into those with onset after and those with onset before 50 years of age (LOD and EOD, respectively), and the two groups were compared both with each other and with matched control groups of healthy subjects. RESULTS: EOD patients showed increased levels of neuroticism in comparison with both LOD and matched controls, who did not differ. The association between age of onset and neuroticism was confirmed in analyses based on age of depression onset as a continuous variable. CONCLUSION: Neuroticism may be an etiological factor in EOD but not or less so in LOD. This finding contributes to the growing evidence for etiological differences between early- and late-onset late-life depression

AB - BACKGROUND: The personality trait of neuroticism is strongly related to depression, but depression is etiologically heterogeneous. Late-onset depression (LOD) may be more closely related to vascular factors, and previous studies of neuroticism in LOD versus early-onset depression (EOD) have not been consistent. METHOD: We examined neuroticism, extraversion and perceived stress in 88 fully remitted depressed patients with a mean age of 60 years and with a history of hospitalization for major depressive disorder. Patients were divided into those with onset after and those with onset before 50 years of age (LOD and EOD, respectively), and the two groups were compared both with each other and with matched control groups of healthy subjects. RESULTS: EOD patients showed increased levels of neuroticism in comparison with both LOD and matched controls, who did not differ. The association between age of onset and neuroticism was confirmed in analyses based on age of depression onset as a continuous variable. CONCLUSION: Neuroticism may be an etiological factor in EOD but not or less so in LOD. This finding contributes to the growing evidence for etiological differences between early- and late-onset late-life depression

KW - Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences

KW - Depression

KW - age of onset

KW - neuroticism

U2 - 10.1159/000440813

DO - 10.1159/000440813

M3 - Journal article

VL - 48

SP - 400

EP - 407

JO - Psychopathology

JF - Psychopathology

SN - 0254-4962

IS - 6

ER -