Depression Subtyping: Treatment Implications

The complexity of subtyping depression and the implications that such subtyping has on treatmentchoices are discussed in this article. The most recent edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manualof Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) directs clinicians to classify the mood disorders indepressed patients as unipolar, bipolar, due to a general medical condition, or due to substance abuse.The focus of this article is unipolar (major depression and dysthymia) and bipolar I and II disorderswith and without feature specifiers for atypical depression, seasonal affective disorder, psychotic depression,and postpartum depression. Anxious depression, which is not a DSM-IV classification, isalso reviewed.