· the prevalence of a depressive episode in the previous 12 months was 3.2%;
· for angina this figure was 4.5%;
· for arthritis 4.1%;
· for asthma 3.3%;
· and for diabetes 2.0%.
Authors’ conclusion
In conclusion, we report the largest population-based worldwide study to our knowledge that explores the effect of depression in comparison with four other chronic diseases on health state. Our main findings show that depression impairs health state to a substantially greater degree than the other diseases. A significant percentage of respondents have depression in addition to their existing chronic physical conditions, a group that is often unrecognised and untreated. This finding is of special importance, considering the presence of depression and its treatment is clearly related to the outcome of these chronic diseases. Comorbidity with depression significantly worsens the health state of people with chronic diseases. The need for timely diagnosis and treatment of depressive disorders to reduce the burden on public health is imperative…”1
Summary and commentary
Although it’s been known for quite some time that depression impacts overall health, this was the largest population-based study to date. Given the number of study subjects and the diversity of their location, socioeconomic status, education, and other factors, the data and the conclusions drawn from the data are unquestionable. The implications are unquestionable.
It is critical that depression be better recognized and treated. While this study analyzed only the impact of depression on health, it stands to reason that if depression has this much impact on health, it also impacts quality of life and the ability of those with depression to be contributing members of society.
It is incumbent upon everyone, healthcare professionals and others, to recognize the impact of this disease and take action.
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Resources:
1 Moussavi, Saba; Chatterji, Somnath; Verdes, Emese; Tandon, Ajay; Patel, Vikram; Ustun, Bedirhan. “Depression, chronic diseases, and decrements in health: results from the World Health Surveys.” Lancet 2007; 370: 851–58.
2 Andrews, Gavin; Titov, Nickolai. Comment: “Depression is very disabling.” The Lancet, Vol 370 September 8, 2007.
3 Press Release. “Depression worsens health more than angina, arthritis, asthma, diabetes.” The Lancet. September 6, 2007.
© Teri Robert, 2007.
Last updated September 6, 2007.
