Kim JW, et al. Psychiatry Investig. 2012 Mar;9(1):8-16. http://dx.doi.org/10.4306/pi.2012.9.1.8

Jung MH, et al. Psychiatry Investig. 2010 Dec;7(4):257-263. http://dx.doi.org/10.4306/pi.2010.7.4.257

Objectives: As South Korea has the highest incidence of completed suicides, the present study aimed to investigate the predictive power of the variables that have been associated with suicide attempts in Korean patients diagnosed with depression. Methods: Hundred participants were divided into two groups: suicide attempters (31%) and suicide non-attempters (69%). Participants with a history of more than one suicidal attempt were assigned to the suicide attempter group. A hierarchical logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the predictive strengths of the variables that were likely to be associated with suicide attempts. Results: After controlling for the effects of such variables as the severity of depressive symptoms, life stress events and impulsivity, the severity of past suicidal ideation was the most important predictive factor for discriminating suicide attempters from suicide non-attempters. The odds ratio for attempting suicide relative to not attempting suicide increased by a factor of 4.408 for each unit of increase in suicidal ideation. Conclusions: The present study suggests that the most severe suicidal ideation throughout one’s entire life should not be overlooked and may be a major predictor of the risk of suicide.

Choi JS, et al. J Korean Med Sci. 2009 Dec;24(6):1083-1088. http://dx.doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2009.24.6.1083

Ahye Kwon, Jungeun Song, Ki-Hwan Yook, Duk-In Jon, Myung Hun Jung, Narei Hong, and Hyun Ju Hong. Clin Psychopharmacol Neurosci 2016;14:383-7. https://doi.org/10.9758/cpn.2016.14.4.383

Although functional impairment is very common among patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and is a necessary diagnostic criterion for MDD, clinicians have not directed their attention beyond the mood symptoms of MDD. We aimed to multi-dimensionally assess the functional abilities of patients with MDD using a standardized scale of adaptive function reported by caregivers or parents to identify the nature and degree of functional impairment in patients with MDD. This study was conducted in 40 depressive patients aged 19 to 60 years. Patients were screened according to the DSM-IV-TR and a Hamilton Depression Rating Scale score ≥8. We administered the parent/caregiver rating form of the Korean Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale to assess functional outcomes in the patients. Patients with MDD showed significant differences in both global and domain-specific functional abilities compared to those of the normal group (all t > −6.35, P < .05) and the patients’ premorbid IQ (all t > 4.30, P < .001). The number of episodes among clinical factors was negatively correlated with overall adaptive functioning (r = −0.32, P < .05) and expressive communication (r = −0.42, P < .01). Our present study replicates existing evidence showing impairment in both broad and various functional areas in patients with MDD, suggesting the importance of quantitatively assessing functional outcomes and acquiring information about functioning from informants other than patients.