Depression in Patient with Chronic Disease

Today many people regard depression as a systemic disease. Many people who experience a depressive disorder with various factors of precipitation. Recent data mention that the World Health Organization (WHO) predicts that by 2020, depression became the second largest disease after cardiovascular diseases.
Depression is a condition of mood disorders involving mood decreased and loss of interest in life. People who experience depression will complain that they are unable to enjoy their lives, despair in the future, and fatigue.

Other symptoms that often occur are the insomnia, difficulty concentrating, no appetite, sexual disorders, mood an easy up and down and psychosomatic symptoms. This condition usually has already lasted more than 2 weeks until a diagnosis of depressive disorder can be enforced.

Many people incorrectly assume that there is always a clear trigger of depressive disorders, but in fact that is not easy to determine the trigger of depressive disorders. There are also many cases of depressive disorders that occur without a trigger, this could explain that biological factors in the brain is having a role in the development of depressive disorders, not only psychosocial factors.

Depression in Patients with chronic disease
Prevalence or incidence of depression globally is about 17% and was the highest from all the incidence of mental disorders in the community. This condition will be increased when 'occurs in special conditions' for example in patients with chronic general medical disease and in elderly patient group.
Patients with chronic disease have expectations about how and when the disease will be cured. But for some patients will experience a depressive disorder during a long treatment. Depressive disorder in patients with chronic disease will complicate the process of treatment.

However, in several literatures saying that patients with general medical conditions with depression, who were treated at General Hospital, is often not detected and the number could reach 50-86% from the literature are collected.

Depression also occurs more frequently in patients with chronic disease such as stroke, diabetes, cancer, and chronic pain disorders.

Recognizing Risk Factors
it’s important for physicians who treat patients with chronic disease to identify several risk factors that can increase the incidence of depression in patients. Physicians should be able to give lessons to face the disease and raising optimism patients as a form of prevention of depression.

A history of previous depressive disorder, a chronic disease (chronic), which is difficult to cure disease, history of depression in the family, the treatment of pain disorders that are not optimal, are some risk factors that often can increase the incidence of depression.

So the role of physicians and family, who care for patients with chronic disease, is expected active in recognizing depressive disorders. Do not blur our view from psychosocial factors that occur in patients who were treated in the hospital!

Psychiatric condition of patients plays an important role in the effort to cure patients. Introduction of symptoms of depressive disorders and depressive disorders therapy earlier and appropriate--learn more evidence of efficacy antidepressant for depression--, will make the patient has a life expectancy and improve quality of life be better.