Comparison between acute and delayed onset major depression after spinal cord injury.

Sixty patients with spinal cord injury were examined to assess major depression during the in-hospital period and at 3- and 6-month follow-up. Thirteen patients had depression during the initial in-hospital evaluation (acute onset depression) and eight had depression first diagnosed at either 3- or 6-month follow-up (delayed onset depression). Acute onset depression was related to the severity of impairment and premorbid history of psychiatric disorder, suggesting a psychological reaction to impairment or premorbid vulnerability as a possible mechanism for developing depression. Delayed onset depression was not related to severity of physical impairment but was associated with more rostral spinal injury, suggesting the possibility that neurophysiological response to injury more proximal to the brain may play a role in delayed onset depression. These data also suggest that the etiology and pathophysiology of these two types of depression may be different.