Presents case reports for 5 female patients with a hypothetical clinical subtype of dysthymic disorder that is accompanied by symptoms of anxiety, social phobia and avoidant personality disorder. This depressive syndrome is termed Meenath depression; Meenath is an Arabic term applied to a woman who gives birth to female offspring. The 5 patients and 2 others gave birth to 44 female children and 2 boys. The authors suggest that a genetic predisposition affected the patients' brothers, who also suffered from psychiatric disturbances, especially depressive disorder. Among the women, severity ranged from mild to major depression and this was accompanied by a decline in the fertility rate. Spontaneous remission of the depression was common, and functional and academic achievement was high despite the severity of episodes.