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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
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Successful treatment of mothers with depression helps their children
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Reviewed by: Dr. Ankush Vidyarthi
"The bottom line message is: 'Mothers who are depressed, go get treated for your depression. It will help not only you, but your child,'"
Mar 22, 2006, 07:10
By University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, Children whose mothers are depressed are more likely to suffer from anxiety, mental-health problems and disruptive behavior than those whose moms aren't. And if the mothers don't get better, these kids' problems often become worse, new research shows.
Conversely, however, children whose mothers are successfully treated for their depressive symptoms show significant improvements themselves — without any additional intervention or treatment of their own.
The study, available online today in the Journal of the American Medical Association, is the first, large-scale examination of the effects on kids when their mothers are treated for depression and scientifically monitored for a period of time. UT Southwestern Medical Center was one of several national sites participating in the study, which emphasizes the importance of evaluation and treatment of parental depression in an effort to help children and adolescents.
"The bottom line message is: 'Mothers who are depressed, go get treated for your depression. It will help not only you, but your child,'" said study co-author Dr. A. John Rush, vice chairman of clinical sciences and professor of psychiatry at UT Southwestern.
About one in 20 teens suffers from moderately severe to severe depression; it is one of the most common disorders of adolescence, according to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). This means that in a high school population of 2,000 teenagers, 100 are likely to have a significant major depressive episode on any given day.
"Depression should not be taken lightly," said Dr. Madhukar Trivedi, study co-author and professor of psychiatry at UT Southwestern. "For kids' sakes particularly, we should be very aggressive in treating patients, particularly mothers. The more improved care we can provide to depressed mothers, the more benefit to their children."
Part of the largest national clinical trial on treatment for depression, called STAR*D (Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression) — coordinated by UT Southwestern and funded by the NIMH — the mother-child study included more than 150 pairs of mothers and their children, who varied in age from 7 to 17. The mothers were treated for depression in eight primary-care and 11 psychiatric outpatient clinics across the country as part of the million six-year STAR*D study.
Dr. Rush said mothers were studied rather than fathers because the rate of depression is higher in women than men, particularly in women of childbearing ages. Mothers are also more likely than fathers to bring their children in for assessments.
Children participating in STAR*D-Child were evaluated for depression at the beginning of the study and then reassessed after their mothers had been on antidepressant medications for three months. Many came into the study with significant problems - more than one-third had current psychiatric disorders including anxiety, depression and/or other disruptive behavior disorders. Almost half had a previous psychiatric disorder.
Three months later, kids whose moms remitted (or recovered from all depressive symptoms, based on a widely used measurement scale) showed an overall 11 percent decrease in rates of diagnoses for depression, as compared to an approximate 8 percent increase in rates of diagnoses in children of non-remitted mothers.
Of the children who were diagnosed with depression at the study's beginning, remission was reported in 33 percent of those whose mothers remitted, compared to only 12 percent remission rates in those whose mothers did not. Of the children with no diagnoses of depression at the study's onset, all children of remitted mothers remained symptom-free, while 17 percent of the children of non-remitted mothers acquired a diagnosis of depression during the three months.
Mothers who did not fully remit after three months, but did respond (showed a decrease in depressive symptoms by at least 50 percent) also had children who showed improvement. Additionally, when overall study results were analyzed based on mothers' educational levels, or both income and education, the statistics remained unchanged.
"A mother's depression does affect her kids," said Dr. Carroll W. Hughes, professor of psychiatry and rehabilitation counseling at UT Southwestern. "When she gets treated and gets better, lo and behold, her kids improve, too. A parent's depression not only has a strong impact on the family as a whole, but it often affects a child's functioning. It points out the need for parents to seek treatment for their depression.
- Journal of the American Medical Association
- Journal of the American Medical Association
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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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