Is dysthymia just mild depression?
Little is known about dysthymic disorder compared to major depression in later life. Devanand et al (Journal of Affective Disorders, 2004; 78: 259-267) examined a clinical sample of patients who met criteria for either major depression or dysthymic disorder. They were all aged over 60. In earlier work the same group had shown that dysthymia in later life has different aetiological factors compared to dysthymia in early adulthood. This finding seemed to confirm and expand this. As a whole the depressed group, both major depression and dysthymia, had more cardiovascular risk factors when the onset was later in life. However the late onset dysthymic patients seemed to have more in common with late onset major depression. Early onset dysthymia (n=89) compared to late onset (n=70) was associated with greater anxiety disorders, a non-significant trend towards a more family psychiatric history and reduced cardiovascular comorbidity. The authors speculate that perhaps late onset depression is
