The world must step up and take action against depression, experts say today.
Professor Helen Herrman at the University of Melbourne, Australia, and colleagues from 11 countries around the world published the report in The Lancet.
It is the latest commission from the World Psychiatric Association outlines the scale of the disease and makes recommendations to tackle the current inequities and under-diagnosis, treatment, and prevention, and delivering collaborative care in all settings.
The authors write: "This Commission provides a message of hope, not only in the form of robust evidence on what can be done to prevent and treat depression, but also on how such interventions can be integrated with wider health and social systems and implemented even in the least resourced contexts."
They point out that depression is a common but poorly recognised and understood health condition "that can cause profound distress, impair social functioning and economic productivity, and lead to premature mortality".
It also has a range of clinical presentations, severity levels, and courses, commonly overlapping with other conditions. There is also considerable variability in depressive symptoms and signs among cultures.
They believe that both social and economic actions are needed "to mitigate the effects of adversities and inequities early in life and across the life course".
Interventions are also needed at the individual level, focusing on current life habits and risk factors.
There is "an opportunity for united action to transform mental health care systems globally", calling for a "whole of society" approach to the prevention of depression.
Herrman, H. et al. Time for united action on depression: a Lancet World Psychiatric Association Commission. The Lancet 15 February 2022 doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(21)02141-3
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