Abstract
This book is the first in a World Psychiatric Association series on Evidence and Experience in Psychiatry. Its publication has been supported by an unrestricted educational grant from Eli Lilly Italia, but it is not until page 481 that that brief acknowledgement is given. Indeed, it is only then that one appreciates the subliminal message subtly presented by the mauve/purple colour of the book. There is nothing inherently wrong with such sponsorship, but it is disappointing that the editors did not declare that in their preface.
Having stated that, this is an extraordinary publication. It presents six broad review chapters, each extensively referenced and well written by respected contributors. Following each chapter there are two or three page commentaries by between 11 and 18 equally eminent researchers and clinicians, both reviewing each chapter and adding their own perspective to the area.
The areas reviewed are: diagnosis of depressive disorders; pharmacological treatment of depressive disorders; psychotherapies for depressive disorders; depressive disorders in children and adolescents; depressive disorders in the elderly; and costs of depressive disorders.
The review chapter on the elderly was compiled by Ed Chiu, David Ames, Brian Draper and John Snowdon and typifies the encyclopaedic nature of the reviews, with over 300 studies referred to. When one couples that with the 17 individual commentaries such as ‘Risk and protective factors in elderly depression’, ‘Suicide in old age’, and ‘Suggested priorities for research into depressive disorders in the elderly’ which, incidentally, is by another Australian, Peter Burvill, it would be a very demanding clinician/researcher who would be dissatisfied after having perused that section.
Let me be even more parochial. In a purportedly comprehensive review of diagnosis of depressive disorders, particularly bearing in mind the overall series title of ‘Evidence and Experience in Psychiatry’, it was unexpected that the only reference to Gordon Parker's innovative and incisive studies into the delineation of depression should be a paper on the ‘distinct quality’ of mood in depression, thereby ignoring a rich body of evidence which has challenged our conceptualization of this enigmatic disorder. It is even more unexpected that he should have been asked to comment on the costs of depressive disorders, rather than on the diagnosis. However, perhaps there was good reason!
The concept of the book is excellent, and the commentaries, which are usually quite focused, are perhaps more revealing than the summaries themselves.
Notwithstanding its colour, this book is highly recommended, and I look forward to seeing subsequent volumes in the same format.