Consensus statement on the primary care management of depression from the International Consensus Group on Depression and Anxiety.

Discussed at the meeting “Focus on Primary Care Management of Depression,” October 15–16, 1998, in Charleston, S.C., held by the International Consensus Group on Depression and Anxiety. The Consensus Meeting was supported by an unrestricted educational grant from SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals. Reprint requests to: James C. Ballenger, M.D., Medical University of South Carolina, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, 67 President St., 5-South P.O. Box 250861, Charleston, SC 29425-0742. D depression to subthreshold depressive disorders such as minor depression or brief recurrent depression. Most clinical evidence on the prevalence, burden, and management of depressive disorders has been gained in studies of major depression. In formulating our views on primary care management of depressive disorders, we have focused on major depression. We recognize that more extensive clinical evidence in minor depression will emerge in the next few years, as current therapeutic trials are completed and reported.