Recall of recent and more remote depressive episodes in a prospective cohort study

Abstract

Reporting of depressive episodes diminishes with time, suggesting that retrospective assessment of such episodes may be vulnerable to inaccuracy.

Accuracy of Reports of Lifetime Mental and Physical Disorders

“…The study also extends past research comparing estimates in adolescents and young adult samples 13,16 or limited to depression. 9-12 In our study, subjects were followed from an average age of 35 ± 13 to 59 ± 13 years and we evaluated several mental disorders. Nevertheless, our results are similar to those of the study by Moffit et al 13 who showed higher lifetime prevalence estimates of psychiatric diagnoses across ages 18 to 32 years, compared to retrospective assessments.…”

“…With regard to depressive symptoms, for example, diminishing recall of past symptoms with time has been reported in a number of studies. 9-12 Retrospective evaluation may thus substantially underestimate or overestimate the true lifetime prevalence of mental disorders. Recently Moffit and colleagues 13 examined the potential impact of recall bias in epidemiologic studies by comparing estimates based on one-time retrospective reports and those based on reports over multiple interviews in the same cohort.…”

“…Furthermore, the Regier et al 14 study compared estimates based on one wave to those based on two waves conducted 1 year apart. To the best of our knowledge, besides depression or depressive symptoms, 9-12 no previous studies have examined whether the lifetime prevalence estimates of common mental disorders based on retrospective reports in mid to late life are underestimated when compared to cumulative reports based on multiple interviews conducted over a longer period of time. Furthermore, no previous studies have compared lifetime prevalence estimates of common physical disorders such as diabetes and hypertension ascertained by retrospective report vs. cumulative reports over an extended period.…”

The American Psychiatric Association Practice Guidelines for the Psychiatric Evaluation of Adults

“…Individuals also vary in their ability to recall details of diagnosis and treatment in an accurate manner. Gaps and inaccuracies in patient reports can arise from ordinary errors in comprehension, recall, and expression (Patten et al 2012;Redelmeier et al 2001;Simon et al 2012). More errors occur when the patient is recalling more distant events (Patten et al 2012;Simon et al 2012).…”

“…Gaps and inaccuracies in patient reports can arise from ordinary errors in comprehension, recall, and expression (Patten et al 2012;Redelmeier et al 2001;Simon et al 2012). More errors occur when the patient is recalling more distant events (Patten et al 2012;Simon et al 2012). Factors other than time may also play a role in these variations in recall (Leikauf et al 2013).…”