Symptom course in inpatient and day clinic treatment of depression: Results from the INDDEP-Study.

Abstract Background In major depression (MDD), hospital treatment is an option in more severe cases or if outpatient treatment failed. Psychosomatic hospitals in Germany provide treatment programs with multimodal psychotherapy, either in an inpatient or a day hospital setting. In the context of health care research, this study aimed (1) to compare characteristics of patients treated in psychosomatic day hospitals and inpatient units, (2) to compare the effectiveness of both treatment modalities. Methods A naturalistic design was chosen to achieve external validity. 604 consecutive patients were assessed at admission, discharge and a 3-month follow-up. Primary outcome was defined as a reduct…