Depression is a treatable illness. Although the direct causes of the illness are unclear, depression is likely to involve abnormalities in brain function. It has been linked to familial and genetic factors, traumatic events, chronic stress, hormonal changes, medical illness, other psychiatric illness, substance abuse, and sleep disorders.
Patients who suffer from major depressive disorder (MDD) typically experience a range of psychological, behavioral, and physical symptoms. Feeling sad or blue (depressed mood) and loss of interest or pleasure in most activities are the two key features of depression.
Other symptoms include sleep abnormalities; loss of energy; loss or increase of either appetite or weight; diminished ability to think or concentrate; feelings of physical restlessness or slowing down; thoughts of worthlessness, hopelessness, or excessive guilt; and recurrent thoughts of death or suicide.
Interpersonal conflict, anxiety problems, and substance abuse frequently accompany depression and exacerbate its serious impact in the workplace. Consider these numbers:
- One out of four women, and one out of eight men, will experience MDD over the course of their lifetime.
- Despite major advances in treatment, only about 25% of cases of MDD are adequately detected and treated such that many individuals with MDD continue to remain symptomatic for months or even years
- MDD is the eighth leading cause of death in the United States.
- MDD is the fourth most disabling condition world-wide, and by 2010, will likely be the second most disabling condition, surpassed only by heart disease.
- Patients with MDD show significantly greater health care costs and use of health care services than non-depressed patients.
- The direct and indirect economic costs of MDD exceed $83 billion per year, including absenteeism and “presenteeism.”
- One in five patients, or 20 percent, with recurrent depression attempt suicide at some point in his or her life, compared with less than one percent of the general population.
- Depression tends to run in families, much like hypertension and adult onset diabetes mellitus; if one’s parent or sibling experienced depression, a person is twice as likely to become depressed, compared with the general population.
Leading Role
Under the leadership of Dr. Maurizio Fava, the Depression Clinical and Research Program (DCRP) at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) is considered one of the leading centers for the study of depression worldwide, currently conducting more than 40 different research studies or clinical trials. The DCRP is one of the largest programs of the MGH Department of Psychiatry, which for nine years in a row has earned the #1 ranking for psychiatry in the U.S. News & World Report survey, “America’s Best Hospitals.”
About The DCRP
- Staffed by 29 full time faculty, including 15 psychiatrists, 5 psychologists, and 9 research assistants.
- Advancing knowledge and treatment for depression through three major activities: patient care, research, and education.
- Caring for more than 1,000 patients with depression and offering expert consultation to patients and their families from around the world.
- Defining the standard of patient care. Articles on the group’s research findings that appear in authoritative medical and scientific journals are among the most frequently cited in the literature on depression.
- Current studies include treatment studies (i.e., treatment of MDD with medications, psychotherapy, and natural remedies); biological studies (i.e., genetic markers of MDD, hormonal markers, brain imaging (PET, MRI, EEG); and studies in special populations (i.e., suicide in college students, diverse cultural settings, and primary care).
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