Symptomatologic analysis of psychotic and non-psychotic depression

Background: The aim of the present study is to evaluate the symptomatologic presentation of delusional compared to non-delusional major depressive episodes. Methods: Two hundred and eighty-eight subjects suffering from mood disorder (144 bipolar, 133 unipolar) were assessed at admission by the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD-21). Results: Depressive symptomatology was more severe in the delusional sample, even after the exclusion of the items directly involved with delusional symptoms (P = 0.00002). Conclusions: Our data support the hypothesis of delusional depression as a more severe form of mood disorder.