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A Comprehensive Method for Assessing Outcome in Prospective Longitudinal Studies

Martin B. Keller, MD; Philip W. Lavori, PhD; Barbara Friedman, MA; Eileen Nielsen, MA; Jean Endicott, PhD; Pat McDonald-Scott, MA; Nancy C. Andreasen, MD

Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1987;44(6):540-548.

Abstract
• The Longitudinal Interval Follow-up Evaluation (LIFE) is an integrated system for assessing the longitudinal course of psychiatric disorders. It consists of a semistructured interview, an instruction booklet, a coding sheet, and a set of training materials. An interviewer uses the LIFE to collect detailed psychosocial, psychopathologic, and treatment information for a six-month follow-up interval. The weekly psychopathology measures ("psychiatric status ratings") are ordinal symptom-based scales with categories defined to match the levels of symptoms used in the Research Diagnostic Criteria. The ratings provide a separate, concurrent record of the course of each disorder initially diagnosed in patients or developing during the follow-up. Any DSM-III or Research Diagnostic Criteria disorder can be rated with the LIFE, and any length or number of follow-up intervals can be accommodated. The psychosocial and treatment information is recorded so that these data can be linked temporally to the psychiatric status ratings.

Author Affiliations
From the National Institute of Mental Health-Clinical Research Branch Collaborative Program on the Psychobiology of Depression: Clinical Studies, Bethesda, Md (Drs Keller, Lavori, Endicott, and Andreasen and Mss Friedman, Nielsen, and McDonald-Scott); Massachusetts General Hospital-Harvard Medical School, Boston (Drs Keller and Lavori and Mss Friedman and Nielsen); Biometrics Research Division, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York (Dr Endicott and Ms McDonald-Scott); and Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa, Iowa City (Dr Andreasen).

Footnotes
Accepted for publication March 20, 1985.

Reprint requests to Psychobiology of Depression Study, Erich Lindemann Mental Health Center, 25 Staniford St, Room 502, Boston, MA 02114 (Dr Keller).

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