Millions of Adults Depressed,
Few Treated Well
Excerpt By Alison McCook, Reuters Health

Millions of adults will develop depression over their lifetimes, but only a fraction of those who report recent episodes receive adequate treatment, according to new study findings released Tuesday.

Almost seven percent of surveyed adults said they had suffered from depression within the past year. Among the recently depressed, 97 percent said that their illness had interfered with their ability to function in numerous aspects of life, including work, home life and relationships.

Furthermore, people who had an episode of depression within the past year said they had been unable to work or carry on normal activities for an average of 35 days, according to a report in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The results indicate that depression is a common and disruptive condition, and many people need more help than they are getting, lead author Dr. Ronald C. Kessler of Harvard Medical School in Boston told Reuters Health.

Kessler explained that around one-half of people diagnosed with depression were considered to have either severe or very severe forms of the condition, indicating that they either need to be aggressively treated or hospitalized.

"There really is an enormous amount of people with depression, with a capital "D," out there in the community," he said.

Kessler and his colleagues obtained their findings from interviews with 9,090 U.S. residents at least 18 years old. Depression was diagnosed using criteria established by the World Health Organization.

Kessler and his colleagues estimate that approximately 16 percent of U.S. adults -- equivalent to between 32.6 and 35.1 million people -- will experience an episode of major depressive disorder during their lifetimes.

And almost seven percent -- or between 13.1 and 14.2 million people -- experience major depressive disorder within the course of one year.

However, only around one-half of people who were depressed within the previous year obtained treatment for their conditions. This care was considered adequate in less than half of treated patients. As a result, only 22 percent of people with recent depression receive adequate treatment, the authors write.

In the study, the authors define adequate treatment as either attending at least four outpatient appointments with any doctor along with taking an antidepressant or mood-stabilizing drugs for at least 30 days, or attending at least eight sessions of psychotherapy.

In an interview, Kessler explained that, although many people do not get adequate treatment, more than half of those who were depressed in the last year sought help for their condition, which is likely an increase over previous years.

More people are recognizing depression as a serious illness, he said, but society is still "in a transition phase." When you break your arm, most people know what help they need and how to get it, Kessler said -- for depression, however, for many people, the solution is still unclear, he noted.

Nevertheless, he said he is encouraged by the fact that more people are seeking treatment, even if it is not often adequate. "Things are moving in a good direction," Kessler said.

SOURCE: Journal of the American Medical Association 2003;289:3095-3105.

Reference Source 89

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