Distinguish between major depressive disorder and dysthymic disorder

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Young people who suffer from persistent depressive disorder (PDD) experience symptoms of depressed mood that occur for most of the day, on most days, and persist for at least 1 year. They are unhappy or irritable most of the time. (The sad and gloomy life of Eeyore the donkey in the 100 Acre Wood likely qualifies for a diagnosis of PDD.) Combined with their chronic depressed (or irritable) mood, these children also display at least two somatic (e.g., eating problems, sleep disturbances, low energy) or cognitive symptoms (e.g., lack of concentration, low self-esteem, feelings of hopelessness) that are present while they are depressed. Although the symptoms of PDD are chronic, they are less severe than those for children with MDD. PDD is a "new" category in DSM-5; it combines the previous DSM-IV categories of Dysthymic Disorder and MDD—Chronic. This was done because of the lack of differences between youths with a dysthymic disorder and those with a chronic type of major depression. In comparison to nonchronic MDD, chronic forms of depression, whether referred to as dysthymic disorder, chronic major depression, or PDD are associated with a poorer response to treatment, greater long-term morbidity at follow-up, and greater familial loading for affective disorders (McCullough et al., 2003).