The Term Major Depressive Disorder

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Introduction
The term major depressive disorder was created by a group of US clinicians in the mid-1970s as part of proposals for diagnostic criteria based on patterns of symptoms (Spitzer et al, 1975). MDD made its first appearance in the third edition in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM III) (Phillip, Maier & Demo, 1991). MDD is a mental disorder characterized by an impairment of functioning in one or more areas of life due to a depressed mood and loss of interest in activities combined with other symptoms for a minimum of two weeks (APA, 2013, 161).
According to the DSM-IV (American Psychiatric Association, 2000), MDD is characterized by one or more major depressive episodes minus a history of manic…show more content…
Epidemiology
According to Klerman & Gershon et al (2013), there has been an increase in the prevalence of major depressive disorder within the last 70 years in the US. Even though a community studies of mental disorders have been situated in the United States of America previously in the completion of the World War 2, it was just in the early 1980s that a complete organized professional consultations were established to diagnose particular mental disorders (Comstock et al., 1976, Helgason T. 1964, Lin TY. 1953). The initial tool was the DIS (Diagnostic Interview Schedule) (DIS), Robin LN et al 1981which was established for use in the Epidemiologic Catchment Area (ECA) study Robin LN et al 1991 for the evaluation of the overall population incidence of mental disorders by Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
A study suggested that gender differences in the diagnosis occurred between the ages of 15 and 18. The rise in the occurrences of new cases of depression is paramount throughout the pre-puberty years (Hankin et al 1998). Similarly, MDD is less common among children than adolescents. 1.9% of children have met the criteria for MDD in comparison to 4.7% of adolescents (Kashani & Sherman, 1988). In yet another study, a one year prevalence of MDD was found in 3.3% of
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