Depression Warning

I have been concerned for quite awhile at the type of news that reaches my inbox about depression. I'm not talking about just the most severe forms of depression such as those associated with Schizophrenia, PTSD, Clinical Depression, and the Bipolar family of depressions. What I'm reading about in newsletters that report on trends in studies about depression is that any form of depression is a health risk to the person who is depressed.

It seems to me that many people do not treat depression with the degree of respect and concern that it deserves. Depression is not just something that is "all in our heads." Depression is a medical problem that is treatable.

I read the following in a newsletter I receive regularly in my inbox from a reputable medical resource: "Depressive disorders are a huge public health problem."
 
"Depression costs the United States huge amounts of direct costs, which are the treatment costs, and indirect costs, such as lost productivity and absenteeism. In a major medical study, depression caused significant problems in the functioning of those affected more often than did arthritis, hypertension, chronic lung disease, and diabetes, and in two categories of problems, as often as coronary artery disease."

"Depression can increase the risks for developing coronary artery disease, HIV, asthma, and some other medical illnesses. Furthermore, it can increase the morbidity (illness) and mortality (death) from these conditions. Depression is usually first identified in a primary-care setting, not in a mental health practitioner's office. Moreover, it often assumes various disguises, which causes depression to be frequently under-diagnosed."

MediResource reports that "two studies have linked depression both with an increased risk for type 2 diabetes and with increased inflammation, which is tied to a higher risk of heart disease."

"In the first study, which appeared in the journal Diabetes Care, a team of Canadian researchers compared history of depression in people over the age of 20 who had been diagnosed with diabetes, with a control group who did not have diabetes. The study was conducted using data from the Saskatchewan Health databases, both to determine whether a person had diabetes and their mental health history. Diagnoses of depression and diabetes were based on diagnostic codes noted in the person's files as well as prescription records."

"After controlling for factors such as gender and visits to the doctor, the researchers found the risk of developing diabetes to be 23% higher in people with a history of depression. But while this association existed for people between the ages of 20 and 50, there did not appear to be a link between depression and diabetes for adults aged 51 years and older."

"The researchers note that there may be several factors at play in this relationship, including a reduced likelihood for depressed people to exercise or control their weight, as well as the fact that many antidepressant medications may cause weight gain. Excess weight is a proven risk factor for developing type 2 diabetes."

"A second study, which was published in the journal Circulation, looked at the relationship between depression and heart disease. While numerous studies have shown that people with a history of depression face an increased risk of developing heart disease, little is understood about the reason for this association. As well, for people already diagnosed with heart disease, depression has been shown to be associated with poorer outcomes and a greater reduction in quality of life."

"The study looked at the relationship between depression and inflammation, which has been shown to play a role in the development of heart disease. The researchers looked at data on men from Ireland and France who were enrolled in the Prospective Epidemiological Study of Myocardial Infarction, and compared their history of depression with blood levels of three known markers of inflammation, including C-reactive protein."

"All of the people enrolled in the larger study were rated on a scale for depression at the start of the study. About five years later, the researchers identified more than 300 men from the larger study, all of whom had heart disease, and matched them with 585 people in a control group, who were of the same age but did not have heart disease. "

"According to their analysis, the men who had heart disease were about 9% more likely to score in the fourth quartile on the depression scale. As well, levels of all three inflammation markers were higher in men who were considered to be depressed, even after the researchers accounted for other risk factors for heart disease. "Each inflammatory marker contributed significantly to coronary heart disease event risk," note the researchers."

"In addition to heart disease and diabetes, depression has been linked with a number of other health problems, including reduced immunity and increased stroke risk - underscoring the importance of seeking treatment for depression or encouraging someone you know who is suffering from the condition to get help."

© 1996 - 2007 MediResource Inc. - MediResource reaches millions of Canadians each year.

I cannot emphasize this enough to my friends who read these articles. If you even suspect you suffer from any type of depression, get help. There is no shame in admitting to having depression even for just a little time. For the most part, depression in any form has a physical cause. There are chemical imbalances involved. "Just dealing with it" puts you in risk for other more physically serious health complications as mentioned above: diabetes, heart disease, stroke, immunity related diseases and more. If you have a loved one or a friend who seems to be depressed from time to time, encourage them to seek medical help. You could be instrumental in preventing far worse conditions that could lead to death prematurely.