An Agent Model of Temporal Dynamics in Relapse and Recurrence in Depression

Abstract Unipolar depression is a mental disorder characterized by a persistent low mood and loss of awareness or contentment in usual activities [1]. Despite the modern era of pharmaceutical and holistic intervention, one of the primary problems with unipolar depression (i.e. a depression not related to other mental disorders) is that it has a very high rate of recurrent and relapse cases. At least 60 percent of individuals who have had one depressive episode will have another, 70 percent of individuals who have had two depressive episodes will have a third, and 90 percent of individuals with three episodes will have a fourth episode. Although the risk of relapse may decline with time, even for those who remain well for 5 years after an index episode, the rate of recurrence/relapse is 58 percent. Despite the magnitude of the problem of recurrence and relapse, little attention has been focused on the symptom pattern in recurrent episodes of major depression [4]. In practice, there is a...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2009
• Where: IEAAIE
• Authors: Azizi Ab Aziz, Michel C. A. Klein, Jan Treur
• Keywords: Abstract Unipolar Depression, Artificial Intelligence, IEAAIE 2009, Mental Disorders, Unipolar Depression