Differences in the developmental patterns of depression with and without additional somatic symptoms

Abstract

Depression accompanied by somatic symptoms (“somatic” depression) has been found to differ from depression without the additional symptoms (“pure” depression) in their gender ratio, their association with measures of perceived gender inequality taken from both respondents and their parents, and in their response to pharmacological treatment. Further evidence of the distinction between the two syndromes might come from differential patterns of development. Data on the annual incidence of new cases of depression exhibited by a representative sample of respondents aged 12–19 came from the National household survey on drug use and health. Between early adolescence (ages 12–14) and late adolescence (ages 15–19), female respondents exhibited a much larger increase in somatic depression than in pure depression. Males did not exhibit the same pattern. These results further support the hypothesis that somatic and pure depressions are two distinct disorders.