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Depression & Mental Health FAQs
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated 40 million Americans living today will suffer from major depressive illness during their lives. Seasonal affective disorder is major depression that appears in the fall or winter and goes away in spring, thought to be caused by lack of sunlight.
Postpartum depression occurs within four weeks of a women giving childbirth. Most new mothers suffer from some form of the �baby blues.� Postpartum depression, by contrast, is major depression, thought to be triggered by changes in hormonal flows associated with childbirth. Catatonic depression is a rare form of major depression characterized by (at least two): Stupor, excessive motor activity, extreme negativism, peculiarities in voluntary movement, and repetition of other people's words or actions. - mcmanweb.com
Psychotic depression is a rare form of depression characterized by delusions or hallucinations, such as believing you are someone you are not and hearing voices.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, approximately 18.8 million American adults, or about 9.5 percent of the US population age 18 and older in a given year, have a depressive disorder. Depression is a chronic illness that exacts a significant toll on
America's health and productivity. It affects more than 21 million
American children and adults annually and is the leading cause of
disability in the United States for individuals ages 15 to 44.
Lost productive time among U.S. workers due to depression is estimated
to be in excess of $31 billion per year. Depression frequently
co-occurs with a variety of medical illnesses such as heart disease,
cancer, and chronic pain and is associated with poorer health status
and prognosis. It is also the principal cause of the 30,000 suicides
in the U.S. each year. In 2004, suicide was the 11 th leading cause of death in the United States, third among individuals 15-24.
According to the World Health Organization, depression is presently on track to becoming the world's second-most disabling disease (after heart disease) by the year 2020. Depression is responsible for some $87 billion a year in lost productivity in the US (a conservative estimate), and according to Bank One, is responsible for most lost work days in its employees after pregnancy and childbirth. Additionally, one million people worldwide die by their own hand, most as a result of a mood disorder. Finally, the linkage between depression and a host of physical illnesses makes it arguably the world's greatest killer.
Research presented at the 56th Annual Conference of the Canadian
Psychiatric Association shows a marked link between bipolar disorder
and migraines. The odds of migraine in persons with bipolar disorder were 40% higher than the general population. Data
obtained from 36,984 people aged 15 and over, who screened positive for
manic or depressive episodes with migraine, were compared against those
who screened positive for mania but who didn�t suffer from migraines. Amongst
males, 14.9% of those with manic episodes were also diagnosed with
migraines compared with 5.8% of the general population. Amongst
females, 34.7% had both migraines and bipolar disorder compared with
14.7% who only had migraines.unquote.gif While the research was
skewed towards persons who were already diagnosed with bipolar
disorders, what does it mean for people who suffer from migraines but
who may have an undiagnosed bipolar disorder?
Migraines and headaches aren�t fully understood but the manifestations are very real and debilitating for their sufferers: Throbbing pain Nausea Heightened sensitivity to light or sound Seeing dots, wavy lines, flashing lights, or blind spots Difficulty with speech, sensation, or movement
An estimated 2.1 million
American adolescents have experienced major depression within the last
year, according to a new comprehensive government study. Researchers
surveyed more than 67,000 young people ages 12 to 17 and found that one
in 12 had suffered from serious depression in the previous year.Nearly
13 percent of girls had struggled with depression, compared to less
than 5 percent of boys. Odds of depression increased with age -- just 4
percent of 12-year-olds experienced depression but that climbed to 11
percent for older teens.
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Study: Antidepressants Offer No Help for Bipolar Disorder
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Study: Antidepressants Offer No Help for Bipolar Disorder
(The New York Times News Service) -- Patients seeking treatment for bipolar disorder depression are as likely to get relief from sugar pills as they are from widely used antidepressants, according to a new study.
The findings, which appear in this week's New England Journal of Medicine, are sure to confound therapy, researchers say.
"Bipolar depression is notoriously difficult to treat," said David Miklowitz, professor of psychology and psychiatry at the University of Colorado-Boulder, and an investigator on the study.
This study, Miklowitz said, "helps us find what does and does not work."
In the largest study of its kind, researchers at the University of Colorado and sites across the country gave patients Paxil, Wellbutrin or a sugar pill.
During the study, all 366 participants took a mood stabilizer, which is commonly prescribed for those with bipolar disorder.
Neither the patients nor the researchers knew whether they were taking one of the two antidepressants or a placebo.
After 26 weeks, 24 percent of those taking antidepressants recovered from their depression and had no major symptoms for at least eight weeks.
Among those who took a sugar pill, 27 percent stayed well for eight weeks or more.
The study by Dr. Gary S. Sachs of Massachusetts General Hospital, is part of a seven-year, $26.8 million research project to examine the condition once known as manic-depressive illness.
During the study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, investigators at 22 sites across the country enrolled 4,361 participants. Researchers expect more results to be published soon.
About 10 million Americans suffer from bipolar disorder, characterized by extreme mood swings from elation and manic activity to incapacitating depression, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
Treating bipolar disorder with antidepressants has been controversial, because some therapists worry the drugs destabilize patients, said Dr. Michael H. Allen, co-director of the mood disorders program at Colorado's medical school and study investigator.
"Part of the problem is that there have not been very good alternatives," Allen said.
"In the absence of other choices, people have used antidepressants, and in fact some people do very well on them," he said.
Lacey Berumen, executive director of Colorado's office of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, said this study should not put that issue to rest.
"I think it's unfortunate that they limited it to only two medications," Berumen said.
Allen said the findings should encourage new therapies.
"This may help spur better use of mood stabilizers and research into better alternatives," such as antipsychotic drugs, he said.
"It's a challenging disease," Allen said. "It's fairly easy to treat the mania and that is what's been studied most, but actually, people spend more time depressed."
Copyright 2007 The New York Times News Service. All rights reserved.
Source: Aetna InteliHealth; March 29, 2007
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Depression & Mental Health FAQs 2
What is Clinical Depression? Clinical
depression can affect your body, mood, thoughts, and behavior. It can
change your eating habits, how you feel and think about things, your
ability to work and study, and how you interact with people. Clinical
depression is not a passing mood, a sign of personal weakness or a
condition that can be willed away. Clinically depressed people cannot
"pull themselves together" and get better. Depression can be
successfully treated by a mental health professional or certain health
care providers. With the right treatment, 80 percent of those who seek
help get better. And many people begin to feel better in just a few
weeks.
Depression a Big Factor in Poor Health World Health Organization Finds Depression Often Goes Untreated By Salynn Boyles WebMD Medical News Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD Sept.
6, 2007 -- Depression has a greater impact on overall health than
arthritis, diabetes, angina, and asthma, but it all too often goes
unrecognized and untreated, a report from the World Health Organization
(WHO) suggests. more... Depression a Big Factor in Poor Health
For Additional Information About Depression Write To: The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 8184, MSC 9663 Bethesda, MD 20892-9663
For free brochures on depression and its treatment call: 1-800-421-4211. or visit: http://www.nimh.nih.gov
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