By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
DailynewsegyptDailynewsegypt
  • Home
  • Business
    BusinessShow More
    CBE Deputy Governor, Swiss State Secretary discuss economic cooperation
    CBE Deputy Governor, Swiss State Secretary discuss economic cooperation
    September 30, 2023
    CBE Governor discusses cooperation with China Development Bank in Beijing
    CBE Governor discusses cooperation with China Development Bank in Beijing
    September 30, 2023
    eSIM technology to be tested by mobile operators in Egypt soon
    eSIM technology to be tested by mobile operators in Egypt soon
    September 30, 2023
    GAFI plans to set up financial service center in New Capital with Emirati-South African alliance
    GAFI plans to set up financial service center in New Capital with Emirati-South African alliance
    September 30, 2023
    Klivvr aims to become Egypt’s largest retail institution within 7 years: Chairperson
    Klivvr aims to become Egypt’s largest retail institution within 7 years: Chairperson
    September 30, 2023
  • Politics
    PoliticsShow More
    Israeli army kills Palestinian in West Bank
    Israeli army kills Palestinian in West Bank
    October 1, 2023
    Aswan Forum Secretariat ‘CCCPA’ briefs UN Country Team on upcoming edition
    Aswan Forum Secretariat ‘CCCPA’ briefs UN Country Team on upcoming edition
    September 30, 2023
    Egypt marks 20 years of United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime
    Egypt marks 20 years of United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime
    September 30, 2023
    Al-Sisi urges Egyptians to vote for change in upcoming elections
    Al-Sisi urges Egyptians to vote for change in upcoming elections
    September 30, 2023
    UN to send mission to Nagorno-Karabakh: Spokesperson
    UN to send mission to Nagorno-Karabakh: Spokesperson
    September 30, 2023
  • Interviews
    InterviewsShow More
    Microsoft Egypt aims to provide advanced AI models, build solid AI ecosystem: Mirna Arif
    Microsoft Egypt aims to provide advanced AI models, build solid AI ecosystem: Mirna Arif
    September 18, 2023
    I love privacy, and I am not concerned about competition: Yasmine Sabry
    I love privacy, and I am not concerned about competition: Yasmine Sabry
    September 14, 2023
    Sustainability, digital transformation at the heart of our strategy: Heidelberg Materials Egypt
    Sustainability, digital transformation at the heart of our strategy: Heidelberg Materials Egypt
    September 12, 2023
    India welcomes Egypt's BRICS membership: Boosting trade, investment, and access to strategic commodities
    India welcomes Egypt’s BRICS membership: Boosting trade, investment, and access to strategic commodities
    September 11, 2023
    The box office is not a measure of success: Basma Hassan
    The box office is not a measure of success: Basma
    September 6, 2023
  • Culture
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle
Reading: Experts call for united action to reduce global burden of depression
Share
Notification
Latest News
Israeli army kills Palestinian in West Bank
Israeli army kills Palestinian in West Bank
Politics Region
CBE Deputy Governor, Swiss State Secretary discuss economic cooperation
CBE Deputy Governor, Swiss State Secretary discuss economic cooperation
Business
CBE Governor discusses cooperation with China Development Bank in Beijing
CBE Governor discusses cooperation with China Development Bank in Beijing
Business
eSIM technology to be tested by mobile operators in Egypt soon
eSIM technology to be tested by mobile operators in Egypt soon
Business
GAFI plans to set up financial service center in New Capital with Emirati-South African alliance
GAFI plans to set up financial service center in New Capital with Emirati-South African alliance
Business
Aa
Aa
DailynewsegyptDailynewsegypt
  • Home
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Interviews
  • Culture
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle
  • Home
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Interviews
  • Culture
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
  • Advertise
© 2023 DNE News. All Rights Reserved.
Dailynewsegypt > Blog > Science > Experts call for united action to reduce global burden of depression
Science

Experts call for united action to reduce global burden of depression

Daily News Egypt
Last updated: 2022/02/17 at 2:15 AM
By Daily News Egypt 10 Min Read
Share
SHARE

The world is failing to tackle the persisting and increasingly serious global crisis of depression it is facing, according to a Lancet and World Psychiatric Association Commission report on depression, which calls for a societal response to reducing the global burden of depression.

 

Despite abundant evidence that much can be done to prevent depression and aid recovery even in resource-limited settings, an estimated 5% of the world’s adult population in any year are living with depression. In high-income countries, about half of the people suffering from depression are not diagnosed or treated, and this rises to 80-90% in low- and middle-income countries. The coronavirus pandemic has also created additional challenges, with social isolation, bereavement, uncertainty, hardship, and limited access to healthcare taking a serious toll on the mental health of millions.

 

Against this background, the commission ‘Time for United Action on Depression’ calls for concerted and collaborative efforts by governments, healthcare providers, researchers, people living with depression, and their families to improve care and prevention, fill knowledge gaps, and increase awareness to tackle one of the leading causes of avoidable suffering and premature death worldwide. It is authored by 25 experts from 11 countries spanning disciplines from neuroscience to global health and advised by people with experience of depression.

 

“Depression is a global health crisis that demands responses at multiple levels. This commission offers an important opportunity for united action to transform approaches to mental health care and prevention globally. Investing in reducing the burden of depression will give millions of people the chance to become healthier, happier, and more productive members of society; help to strengthen national economies; and advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals for 2030,” says Commission Chair Professor Helen Herrman from Orygen, the National Centre for Excellence in Youth Mental Health and The University of Melbourne, Australia.

 

Co-author Charles Reynolds from the University of Pittsburgh, USA says “we know that most individuals with depression at all stages of life will recover if they obtain adequate support and treatment. With sound science, political will, and shared responsibility, depression can be prevented and treated and potentially disabling consequences avoided.”

 

“We must empower people with experience of depression together with families, practitioners, policymakers, and civil society to address the tsunami of unmet need — through sharing their experiences to reduce stigma, supporting others with information about the condition and possibilities for help, and advocating for greater resources for evidence-based approaches.”

 

A poorly recognised and understood condition

 

Depression is a common condition worldwide, yet despite this, many myths continue to surround it, perpetuating inaction. These include common misconceptions that depression is simply sadness, a sign of weakness, or restricted to certain cultural groups. The commissioners stress that depression is a distinct health condition characterised by its persistence, substantial effect on daily functioning, and long-term health consequences. It can affect anyone, regardless of gender, background, social class, or age, there is variability in the types and prevalence of depressive symptoms and signs among cultures and populations.

 

The risk of depression rises in settings of adversity that include poverty; violence; displacement; and gender, racial, and other forms of discrimination.

 

Depression is linked to a wide variety of chronic physical illnesses, and a person’s physical health can influence their mental health and vice versa. At its worst, depression can lead to suicide. Studies indicate that 70-80% of people who die by suicide in high-income countries and around half of those in low- and middle-income countries suffer from mental illness, of which depression is the most common cause.

 

Depression also has an enormous, under-recognised social and economic toll on individuals, families, communities, and countries. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the loss in economic productivity linked to depression cost the global economy an estimated $1 trillion a year.

 

“There is arguably no other health condition which is as common, as burdensome, as universal, or as treatable as depression, yet it receives little policy attention and resources,” says Commission Co-Chair Associate Professor Christian Kieling from the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil.

 

“Effective psychosocial and medical treatments are difficult to access, while high levels of stigma still prevent many people, including the high proportion of adolescents and young people at risk of or experiencing depression from seeking the help required to have healthy and productive lives.”

 

Prevention is essential to reducing the burden of depression

 

The commission stresses the need for societal strategies that reduce exposure to both adverse experiences in childhood — including neglect and trauma — and across the lifespan to lower the prevalence of depression.

 

Interventions are also needed at the individual level, focusing on lifestyle factors (Eg. smoking, alcohol consumption, physical inactivity) and other risk factors, such as intimate partner violence or stressful life events like bereavement or financial crisis.

 

“Prevention is the most neglected aspect of depression. This is in part because most interventions are outside of the health sector,” says co-author Lakshmi Vijayakumar from SNEHA, Suicide Prevention Centre and Voluntary Health Services, Chennai, India.

 

“In the face of the lifelong effects of adolescent depression, from difficulty in school and future relationships to risk of substance abuse, self-harm, and suicide, investing in depression prevention is excellent value for money. It is crucial that we put into practice evidence-based interventions that support parenting, reduce violence in the family and bullying at school, as well as promote mental health at work and address loneliness in older adults. Common risk factors and high rates of depression among people with chronic health problems also support shared preventive approaches.”

 

A personalised, staged approach to care

 

The commissioners stress that the current system of classifying people with symptoms of depression into just two categories — either they have clinical depression or not — is too simplistic. They argue that depression is a complex condition with a diverse set of signs and symptoms, severity levels, and duration across cultures and the life course.

 

The commission supports a personalised, staged approach to depression care that recognises the chronology and intensity of symptoms and recommends interventions tailored to the specific needs of the individual and severity of the condition, ranging from self-help and lifestyle changes to psychological therapies and antidepressants to more intensive and specialised treatments such as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) for severe, refractory forms of the illness.

 

“No two individuals share the exact life story and constitution, which ultimately leads to a unique experience of depression and different needs for help, support, and treatment,” explains Commission Co-Chair Professor Vikram Patel from Harvard Medical School in the USA.

 

“Similar to cancer care, the staged approach looks at depression along a continuum — from wellness to temporary distress to an actual depressive disorder — and provides a framework for recommending proportional interventions from the earliest point in the illness.”

 

At the same time, the commission proposes that collaborative care strategies are adopted to scale up evidence-based interventions in routine care. They argue that using locally recruited, widely available, and low-cost non-specialists such as community health workers and lay counsellors not only addresses the acute shortage of skilled providers and financial barriers but will also help reduce stigma and cultural barriers while providing holistic care to patients and their families. While this is most important in low-income countries it is also relevant and useful universally, as nowhere in the world is depression care adequate.

 

Ultimately, greater investment is needed to ensure that people receive the care they need where and when they need it, and the commission underscores the importance of governmental actions to reduce the damaging effects of poverty, gender inequity, and other social inequities on mental health.

 

“Policies that reduce racial or ethnic inequities, systematic disadvantages experienced by women and support the fair distribution of income through universal health coverage and expanding opportunities for educational attainment can be potentially powerful preventive strategies,” says Herrman.

“Tackling the climate emergency, the COVID-19 pandemic, and other global and regional emergencies that exacerbate existing inequities and threats to health – including pursuit of the UN Sustainable Development Goals – must also be vital parts of efforts to prevent depression.”

 

You Might Also Like

Genetically engineering associations between plants and nitrogen-fixing microbes could lessen dependence on synthetic fertilizer

Earthworms contribute to 6.5% of global grain production, says new research

Researchers build and test a framework for achieving climate resilience across diverse fisheries

Can we get better at predicting earthquakes?

Morocco earthquake wasn’t unexpected – building codes must plan for them

TAGGED: depression
Share this Article
Facebook Twitter Email Print
Previous Article Marwa El-Shinawy Opinion| Salmawy’s biography reveals support of Obama administration for Muslim Brotherhood
Next Article Human microbiome research excludes developing world
Ad image
Ad image

Stay Connected

Facebook Like
Twitter Follow
Instagram Follow
Youtube Subscribe

Latest News

Israeli army kills Palestinian in West Bank
Israeli army kills Palestinian in West Bank
Politics Region
CBE Deputy Governor, Swiss State Secretary discuss economic cooperation
CBE Deputy Governor, Swiss State Secretary discuss economic cooperation
Business
CBE Governor discusses cooperation with China Development Bank in Beijing
CBE Governor discusses cooperation with China Development Bank in Beijing
Business
eSIM technology to be tested by mobile operators in Egypt soon
eSIM technology to be tested by mobile operators in Egypt soon
Business
//
Egypt’s only independent daily newspaper in English. Discuss the country’s latest with the paper’s reporters, editors, and other readers.

Quick Link

  • Home
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Interviews
  • Culture
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle

Sign Up for Our Newsletter

Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!

© 2023 DNE News. All Rights Reserved.

Join Us!

Subscribe to our newsletter and never miss our latest news, podcasts etc..

Zero spam, Unsubscribe at any time.

Removed from reading list

Undo
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?