Majority Of Depression Sufferers Do Not Receive Treatment

A new report which coincides with Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day reveals that 8.2 percent (2 million) youths aged 12 to 17 experienced at least one major depressive episode (MDE) in the past year. Only about two-fifths (38.9 percent) of these adolescents received treatment during this period according to the report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
The report also found that health insurance coverage seemed to be a major factor in determining whether adolescents experiencing MDEs in the past year received treatment. Among these adolescents, those without health insurance coverage were far less likely to have received treatment (17.2 percent) than those with Medicaid/CHIP (42.9 percent) or private health insurance (40.6 percent).
Based on a nationwide SAMHSA survey, Major Depressive Episode and Treatment among Adolescents also reveals the types of treatments adolescents received for MDEs. The report shows that among treated adolescents:
• 58.8 percent saw or spoke with a counselor
• 36.8 percent saw or spoke with a psychologist
• 27.3 percent saw or spoke with a psychiatrist or psychotherapist
• 26.6 percent saw or spoke with a general practitioner or family doctor
In addition, the report shows that less than half (46.8 percent) of adolescents who received treatment for an MDE in the past year used prescription medication for their condition.
“This report contributes to the growing realization that much more must be done to meet enormous mental health needs of our young people,” said SAMHSA’s Acting Administrator, Eric Broderick, D.D.S, M.P.H. “This report, along with the enactment of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act and the recent landmark report by the National Research Council and Institute of Medicine on children’s mental health, highlight our nation’s growing concern and commitment to alleviating the damage and suffering inflicted by untreated mental disorders on children, their families and their communities.”
The report is drawn from SAMHSA’s 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), which collected data from a representative sample of approximately 22,000 adolescents throughout the United States.
An MDE is defined as a period of two weeks or longer during which there is either depressed mood or loss of interest or pleasure and at least four other symptoms that reflect a change in functioning, including problems with sleep, eating, energy, concentration, and self-image.

People's Depression Worsen During Allergy Season

New research is showing that people with depression or bipolar disorder that are allergic to certain pollens such as tree or ragweed, experience worse depression when exposed to that allergen.
"The worse the allergy symptoms, the worse their depression scores [on a standardized test used to assess depression and mania]," says researcher Partam Manalai, MD, of the department of psychiatry at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore.
The findings discovered that allergies can make depression symptoms much worse. This is the first time that's been shown. While more research is needed to understand how allergies may make depression worse, the findings also indicate that treating a depressed person's allergies may help improve their mood, even if they aren't experiencing symptoms.
One in 10 Americans suffers from depression. As many as one in five may have seasonal allergies says researcher Partam Manalai, MD, of the department of psychiatry at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore. "In patients with allergy and depression, prophylactic treatment of these conditions may prevent worsening of mood during peak allergen season," Manalai says.
"But in people with depression and allergies, we think treating the allergies may prevent worsening of depression symptoms," he says.
Allergists have reported that persons with certain allergies may feel fatigued and mentally “down” during the season. Some people suffer from insomnia. A study in the Archives of Internal Medicine in 2006 showed that people with allergies were more likely to have sleep problems than people without the condition. In the study, about 35% of allergic rhinitis patients reported insomnia.
Manalai also points out that only people with mood disorders were studied; otherwise healthy people who feel the symptoms of allergies during allergy season shouldn't go charging into their doctor's office asking for antidepressants to ease symptoms.

Depression Ups Risk Of Complications Following Heart Attack

People who suffer from severe depression following a heart attack might be more likely to experience cardiac complications while hospitalized, according to a new study.
“There is good evidence that if a person has depression after a heart attack, they are more likely to die from cardiac causes in the following months and years,” said lead author Jeff Huffman, M.D., assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. “No one had yet studied whether depression impacts cardiac outcomes immediately after a heart attack—the time we see the most complications.”
The study included 129 patients at Massachusetts General Hospital. Within 72 hours of having a heart attack, each participant underwent an interview to determine if he or she suffered from depression or anxiety. Seventeen of the original group members had a diagnosis of major depression lasting for at least two weeks.
The presence of major depression was a significant predictor of heart rhythm problems, congestive heart failure or a second heart attack.
Anxiety did not affect the risk for any in-hospital complication.
“The results suggest that physicians should be especially mindful of treating depression in patients with cardiac risk factors,” Huffman said. “They also suggest close in-hospital monitoring of heart attack patients with major depression given this increased risk for complications.”
Huffman noted that the study, which appears in the July-August issue of the journal Psychosomatics, is a small, preliminary study. Most of the participants were white males, so its findings might not apply to other groups.
“What is surprising is that differences in outcomes were seen in a relatively short time. The new observation is that risk for these bad outcomes start while patients are still in the hospital,” said David Bush, M.D., associate professor at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Heart Institute.
“The separation between heart disease, typically managed by cardiologists and internists, and mental disease, typically managed by psychiatrists, is not as great as many seem to think.” Bush said. “Physicians and patients should be sensitive to this and work on treating depression in addition to controlling diabetes, lowering blood pressure and lowering cholesterol.”