Depression more harmful than angina, says study
Alok Jha, science correspondent
The Guardian Friday September 7 2007
Depression can do more physical damage to a person's health than several long-term diseases, according to a study.
The World Health Organisation led the largest population-based study on the physical effects of several illnesses by analysing data from more than 245,000 people in 60 countries. The results, published today, showed that depression had more impact on sufferers than angina, arthritis, asthma, and diabetes.
Depression was the fourth leading cause of "disease burden" in 2000, a measure of the number of years of full health lost due to an illness. Projections by scientists at the Harvard School of public health suggest that, by 2020, depression will rise to become second only to heart disease in terms of disease burden.
In addition, suffering from depression along with another chronic disease produced significantly worse health than having one or more of the chronic diseases alone. "The need for timely diagnosis and treatment of depressive disorders to reduce the burden on public health is imperative," wrote Dr Moussavi. "In many primary care settings patients presenting with multiple disorders that include depression often don't get diagnosed, and if they do often treatment is focused towards the other chronic diseases."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2007/sep/07/medicineandhealth.lifeandhealthinsurance
Alok Jha, science correspondent
The Guardian Friday September 7 2007
Depression can do more physical damage to a person's health than several long-term diseases, according to a study.
The World Health Organisation led the largest population-based study on the physical effects of several illnesses by analysing data from more than 245,000 people in 60 countries. The results, published today, showed that depression had more impact on sufferers than angina, arthritis, asthma, and diabetes.
Depression was the fourth leading cause of "disease burden" in 2000, a measure of the number of years of full health lost due to an illness. Projections by scientists at the Harvard School of public health suggest that, by 2020, depression will rise to become second only to heart disease in terms of disease burden.
In addition, suffering from depression along with another chronic disease produced significantly worse health than having one or more of the chronic diseases alone. "The need for timely diagnosis and treatment of depressive disorders to reduce the burden on public health is imperative," wrote Dr Moussavi. "In many primary care settings patients presenting with multiple disorders that include depression often don't get diagnosed, and if they do often treatment is focused towards the other chronic diseases."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2007/sep/07/medicineandhealth.lifeandhealthinsurance