- Section 1 The Subject Matter of and Approach to Psychiatry
- 1.3 Psychiatry as a worldwide public health problem
- 1.4 The history of psychiatry as a medical specialty
- 1.5 Ethics and values
- 1.6 The psychiatrist as a manager
- 1.7 Descriptive phenomenology
- 1.8 Assessment
- 1.9 Diagnosis and classification
- 1.10 From science to practice
- Section 2 The Scientific Basis of Psychiatric Aetiology
- 2.3 The contribution of neurosciences
- 2.4 The contribution of genetics
- 2.5 The contribution of psychological science
- 2.6 The contribution of social sciences
- 2.7 The contribution of epidemiology to psychiatric aetiology
- Section 3 Psychodynamic Contributions to Psychiatry
- Section 4 Clinical Syndromes of Adult Psychiatry
- 4.4 Persistent delusional symptoms and disorders
- 4.5 Mood disorders
- 4.5.1 Introduction to mood disorders
- 4.5.2 Clinical features of mood disorders and mania
- 4.5.3 Diagnosis, classification, and differential diagnosis of the mood disorders
- 4.5.4 Epidemiology of mood disorders
- 4.5.5 Genetic aetiology of mood disorders
- 4.5.6 Neurobiological aetiology of mood disorders
- 4.5.7 Course and prognosis of mood disorders
- 4.5.8 Treatment of mood disorders
- 4.5.9 Dysthymia, cyclothymia, and hyperthymia
- 4.6 Stress-related and adjustment disorders
- 4.7 Anxiety disorders
- Section 5 Psychiatry and Medicine
- Section 6 Treatment Methods in Psychiatry
- 6.2 Somatic treatments
- Section 7 Social Psychiatry and Service Provision
- Section 8 The Psychiatry of Old Age
- Section 9 Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Course and prognosis of mood disorders
- Chapter:
- Course and prognosis of mood disorders
- Author(s):
Jules Angst
- DOI:
- 10.1093/med/9780199696758.003.0089
Ever since Kahlbaum's monograph 1863 the course and outcome of mental disorders have played important roles as criteria and validators of psychiatric classification. The prognosis is fundamental for doctor and patient when deciding whether to start long-term prophylactic medication and, at a later stage, whether to stop a successful long-term treatment. Course is a crucial factor in estimating the social consequences, costs, suicide risk, and mortality associated with mood disorders. The description of course includes the age of onset, episode length, recurrence of episodes, residual symptoms between episodes and outcome (remission, chronicity, death). These aspects are covered in this chapter.
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- Section 1 The Subject Matter of and Approach to Psychiatry
- 1.3 Psychiatry as a worldwide public health problem
- 1.4 The history of psychiatry as a medical specialty
- 1.5 Ethics and values
- 1.6 The psychiatrist as a manager
- 1.7 Descriptive phenomenology
- 1.8 Assessment
- 1.9 Diagnosis and classification
- 1.10 From science to practice
- Section 2 The Scientific Basis of Psychiatric Aetiology
- 2.3 The contribution of neurosciences
- 2.4 The contribution of genetics
- 2.5 The contribution of psychological science
- 2.6 The contribution of social sciences
- 2.7 The contribution of epidemiology to psychiatric aetiology
- Section 3 Psychodynamic Contributions to Psychiatry
- Section 4 Clinical Syndromes of Adult Psychiatry
- 4.4 Persistent delusional symptoms and disorders
- 4.5 Mood disorders
- 4.5.1 Introduction to mood disorders
- 4.5.2 Clinical features of mood disorders and mania
- 4.5.3 Diagnosis, classification, and differential diagnosis of the mood disorders
- 4.5.4 Epidemiology of mood disorders
- 4.5.5 Genetic aetiology of mood disorders
- 4.5.6 Neurobiological aetiology of mood disorders
- 4.5.7 Course and prognosis of mood disorders
- 4.5.8 Treatment of mood disorders
- 4.5.9 Dysthymia, cyclothymia, and hyperthymia
- 4.6 Stress-related and adjustment disorders
- 4.7 Anxiety disorders
- Section 5 Psychiatry and Medicine
- Section 6 Treatment Methods in Psychiatry
- 6.2 Somatic treatments
- Section 7 Social Psychiatry and Service Provision
- Section 8 The Psychiatry of Old Age
- Section 9 Child and Adolescent Psychiatry