Survival Analysis and Readmission in Mood Disorder

Abstract

BackgroundThis is an exploratory study of readmission in mood disorder.MethodThe study is naturalistic and employs survival analysis. We identified 821 individuals with ICD–9 diagnoses, drawn from the Tasmanian Mental Health Register.ResultsNo demographic variables influence the time to readmission. Two groups emerge: those with affective psychoses, and those with neurotic depression, brief depressive reaction and depressive disorders not elsewhere classified. The former group demonstrated shorter times to readmission than the latter. There was no support for a unipolar–bipolar distinction.ConclusionsAffective psychoses have a less favourable outcome than expected. There was support for an endogenous-neurotic distinction.