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Major Depressive Episode Remission Faster with BD, Longest with BPD
Compared with unipolar depression, the time to remission of a major depressive episode (MDE) of major depressive disorder (MDD) was shorter in patients with bipolar depression but longer in patients with borderline personality disorder, according to a 6-month prospective study published in the Journal of Affective Disorders.
“In general, depending on the subcohort, the patients spent around 40–50% of the follow-up period in a state fulfilling MDE criteria, 20–40% in partial remission, and 10–30% in full symptomatic remission,” wrote the research team, which was based in Helsinki, Finland.
The study compared MDE outcomes in 39 outpatients with major depressive disorder (MDD), 33 outpatients with bipolar disorder, and 23 outpatients with borderline personality disorder. Patients completed biweekly online assessments over 6-month follow-up period.
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MDE remission rates were similar among the three patient groups, according to the study. However, the course of illness over the 6-month follow-up differed by condition.
Patients with bipolar disorder experienced more, but shorter, distinct mood state periods than other patients, but full hypomania or mania was rare. Additionally, bipolar disorder was associated with a shorter time to first remission, the study found.
In contrast, dimensionally assessed borderline personality disorder severity was linked with a longer time to first remission.
“When the cohort was divided into quintiles according to borderline personality disorder feature severity, there was an approximately 1-month difference in time to first period of remission between the first and third and between the third and fifth quintiles, with longer times seen in patients with more severe borderline personality disorder symptoms,” researchers reported. “Thus, in MDE patients, borderline personality disorder feature severity may be a useful prognostic marker, specifically in the context of remission latency.”
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