Publication Date
9-1-2010
Abstract
Only about half of Americans diagnosed with major depression in a given year receive treatment for it and even fewer – about one-fifth – receive treatment consistent with current practice guidelines, according to data from national surveys supported by the National Institute of Mental Health of the National Institutes of Health. Among the groups surveyed, African-Americans and Mexican-Americans are truly falling through the cracks, having the lowest rates of depression care. Major depressive disorders (MDD) is the main cause of disability in the United States, and it is projected that over the next 20 years MDD will be the second leading cause of disability around the globe. A team of researchers from Wayne State University, the University of Michigan, the University of California, Los Angeles and Harvard University have given a more a detailed picture of the care received for major depression among different ethnic/racial groups and factors that contribute to disparities. Their paper published in the January 2010 edition of the Archives of General Psychiatry reports that too few Americans with recent major depressive disorders receive adequate depression care, and most receive no care at all. Of those receiving care, most received psychotherapy versus medication treatment.
Recommended Citation
O'Connor, Julie
(2010)
"Major Depressive Disorder: Too Many Patients; Too Few Treated,"
New Science: Vol. 18:
Iss.
1, Article 8.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/newscience/vol18/iss1/8