I Hate Dialysis Message Board
Dialysis Discussion => Dialysis: News Articles => Topic started by: Black on September 08, 2007, 07:34:00 PM
-
"..."Compared to the chronic physical illnesses of angina, arthritis, asthma and diabetes, depression produces the most decline in health," Chatterji said. "Having depression over and above a physical illness significantly worsens health even further," he said...."
Entire article follows.
Depression May Be World's Most Disabling Disease
Global study finds it takes bigger toll than other chronic conditions
By Steven Reinberg
Posted 9/7/07
FRIDAY, Sept. 7 (HealthDay News) -- When compared with other chronic diseases, depression may well be the most disabling disease in the world, a new global study finds.
People with chronic physical diseases such as angina, arthritis, asthma and diabetes also fare far worse if they also suffer from depression, the team of international researchers found.
"Being sad is bad for your health," according to lead researcher Dr. Somnath Chatterji, from the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, Switzerland.
But all too often, he said, depression doesn't get the serious attention paid to physical ailments.
"Treatment of mental health conditions such as depression are a necessity, not a luxury. Mental health conditions such as depression must be treated on a par with physical health conditions," Chatterji said.
In the study, published in the Sept. 8 issue of The Lancet, Chatterji's team perused data on more than 245,000 people from 60 countries participating in WHO's World Health Survey.
They found that 3.2 percent of people had experienced a depressive episode in the past year. For people with angina, the rate was 4.5 percent; for people with arthritis, it was 4.1 percent; for those with asthma, it was 3.3 percent; and for people with diabetes, it was 2 percent.
Moreover, between 9 percent and 23 percent of people had depression in addition to suffering from one or more of these conditions. That's significantly higher than the likelihood of having depression without having a chronic disease, Chatterji's group noted.
After the researchers had accounted for socioeconomic factors and health conditions, they confirmed that depression had the biggest effect on worsening health compared with the other four major chronic illnesses. In different countries, people with depression plus one or more chronic diseases were in the worst health of all the disease states studied, Chatterji's team reported.
"Compared to the chronic physical illnesses of angina, arthritis, asthma and diabetes, depression produces the most decline in health," Chatterji said. "Having depression over and above a physical illness significantly worsens health even further," he said.
Depression needs to be recognized and treated as an urgent public health priority, Chatterji said. "Persons with physical illnesses should also be examined for depression and treated appropriately. Primary care providers must learn to recognize and manage concurrent physical illnesses and depression to reduce disease burden and improve population health," he added.
One expert hailed the findings.
"It is encouraging to see that results that we have been seeing from our country, from studies in the United States about the devastating effects of comorbid depression with other chronic illnesses, are replicable internationally," said David L. Shern, the president and CEO of the nonprofit advocacy group Mental Health America.
Depression is a huge public health issue, Shern said. "Continuing to have these inane debates about whether we should have insurance coverage for mental health care, in the light of data like these, is just silly," he said.
The study also highlights the need for integrated care and screening for depression, Shern said. "Practitioners need to be educated to look for depression, and consumers need to push their doctors to be aware of their depression," he said.
Depression is treatable, Shern noted. "That's one of the big stories of the last 20 years -- the development of pharmacological treatments that have broad scale effectiveness," he said. "There are psychosocial treatments, for people who don't want to take medication, that are just as effective," he said. "Combining the two is the preferred regimen."
Copyright © 2007 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.
http://body.aol.com/condition-center/depression/news/article/_a/depression-may-be-worlds-most-disabling/n20070907121209990070?cid=2609
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
See what's new at AOL.com and Make AOL Your Homepage.
-
Thanks for sharing this article. It is something we all seem to deal with and it is good to have some validation that depression is real and needs to be treated.
-
Primary care providers must learn to recognize and manage concurrent physical illnesses and depression to reduce disease burden and improve population health," he added.
Unlike my doctors, who completely blow me off and ignore my concerns!
Great article. Maybe I should print this off and take it with me to my nephro appointment this afternoon!
-
Primary care providers must learn to recognize and manage concurrent physical illnesses and depression to reduce disease burden and improve population health," he added.
Unlike my doctors, who completely blow me off and ignore my concerns!
Great article. Maybe I should print this off and take it with me to my nephro appointment this afternoon!
I hope you did that!!
-
Yeah!!! I'm now on Lexapro! My nephro has finally started listening to me! :yahoo;
-
pbear, I'm so glad you got the meds. Also try to find SOMEONE to talk to. Depression runs strongly in my family, and it's been known to send me to bed for a month at a time, the meds help, but finding a good psychologist, clergy, counselor or other "professional listener", as my father calls them, can help immensely.
-
Yeah!!! I'm now on Lexapro! My nephro has finally started listening to me! :yahoo;
Awesome, i hope it works for you, please let us know how your doing ok :2thumbsup;
-
Yeah!!! I'm now on Lexapro! My nephro has finally started listening to me! :yahoo;
:2thumbsup; Good job, bear. It really is the squeaky wheel that gets the grease. ;D
In case the neph didn't go into detail about what to expect
http://www.lexapro.com/default.aspx?WT.srch=1&PlacementGUID=971BC56E-E1A9-4503-BD93-E100C0CB35A0
-
Yeah!!! I'm now on Lexapro! My nephro has finally started listening to me! :yahoo;
:2thumbsup; Good job, bear. It really is the squeaky wheel that gets the grease. ;D
In case the neph didn't go into detail about what to expect
http://www.lexapro.com/default.aspx?WT.srch=1&PlacementGUID=971BC56E-E1A9-4503-BD93-E100C0CB35A0
Thanks for the info. THe nephro just said "I'll give you something," walked out, wrote the Rx and handed it to the nurse to give to me. Then went on to see his next patient. Now, if only he'll do something about my anemia!
-
Thanks for the info. The nephro just said "I'll give you something," walked out, wrote the Rx and handed it to the nurse to give to me. Then went on to see his next patient. Now, if only he'll do something about my anemia!
You're welcome. Just remember it may take some time before you notice a difference and some of the side effects go away after the first week or two.
My sister's husband has a vascular specialist that's like that. If she has questions, she goes to the appointment with him and stands in front of the door with the list of questions in her hand. He hates it and she can tell that he gets very irritated, but he can't leave because she won't move until she gets answers. :rofl;
Yeah, anemia is a drag that too many docs don't take seriously.
-
Sometimes it is hard to tell if it is depression or just tired of being tired all of the time.
-
I agree, Kit, it IS a major burden,being tired all the time!!
-
Sometimes it is hard to tell if it is depression or just tired of being tired all of the time.
THat's what I keep telling my husband...I'm tired of being tired all the time!