Depression : Disease Blogs For Doctors : MEDICUS

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Depression is a psychological disorder which includes feeling of sadness, loss of interest, and lack of joy in daily activities. It affects feelings, thoughts and behavior which can lead to psychological, emotional or physical problems. It reflects negativity in everything. Diagnosis becomes difficult because there is no particular one cause behind it. Treatment varies with stages of depression and person to person.
Types –

Dysthymia
Unipolar and bipolar
Major depressive disorder
CAUSES –
Biological changes
Disturbance in functioning of neurotransmitters
Hormonal imbalance
Genetic factors
Emotional or environmental factors
SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS –
Changes in sleeping patterns like insomnia or hypersomnia
Feeling of sadness, emptiness, hopelessness or guilt
Trouble in thinking, concentrating and decision making
Anger, irritation and frustration over small matters
Withdrawal from social activities
Frequent thoughts of suicide or death
Memory problem
Fatigue
Loss of appetite
DIAGNOSIS –
Physical examination
Blood test – To diagnose hormonal cause behind depression
Psychiatric evaluation – It includes study of symptoms, thoughts, feelings and behaviorpattern with the help of questionnaire.
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5)
TREATMENT –
Anti-depressant medications
Psychotherapy
Yoga and exercise
Meditation
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in severe depression
RISK FACTORS –
Certain personality traits like low self-esteem
Family history
Traumatic or stressful events
Alcohol or drug addiction
Serious chronic illness like cancer
PREVENTION –
Improve personality traits
Control stress
Participate in social activities with family and friends
Treat depression at earlier stage
Communicate with people
EPIDEMIOLOGY –
Estimation shows that 350 million people are affected per year due to depressionglobally.
Commonly observed in female more than male.
Lifetime prevalence of dysthymia is about 2% in male, 4% in female and 2.5% in generalpopulation.
30% accounts for unipolar depression in chronic depression disorders.