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According to the landmark "Global Burden
of Disease" study1,
mental disorders are the second leading source
of disease burden in established market economies.
The same study reported that major depression
alone ranked among the leading causes of disability
in these countries. Major depression takes an
enormous toll on functional status, productivity,
and quality of life, and is associated with
elevated risk of heart disease and suicide.
In addition, the rate of treatment for depression
is increasing dramatically in the United States.
The annual economic burden of depression in
the United States (including direct care, mortality,
and morbidity costs) has been estimated to total
almost $44 billion. This combination of increasing
burden and cost has stimulated numerous investigations
into population-based strategies to prevent
the occurrence of major depression and to encourage
more effective treatment of depression, thereby
limiting its course and preventing its recurrence.
In the light of this growing body of literature
around population-based strategies to improve
the primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention
of depression, and the increasing burden of
this debilitating chronic condition, the Task
Force on Community Preventive Services has endorsed
this topic for review.
We are not currently conducting new mental
health reviews but are hopeful that, over time,
the portfolio will increase.
Other Community Guide reviews with potential
relevance to mental health: Alcohol
Abuse and Misuse Prevention.
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| Strength of Evidence Legend: |
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Recommended |
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Insufficient Evidence |
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Recommend Against |
| Depression |
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Collaborative care for treatment
of adults 18 years of age or older, with
major depression |
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| Recommendations and detailed
findings will be published in the MMWR Recommendations
and Reports, in the American Journal
of Preventive Medicine, and on the
Guide to Community Preventive Services
website (www.thecommunityguide.org). |
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1Murray
CJL and Lopez AD (Eds). The global burden of
disease. A comprehensive assessment of mortality
and disability from diseases, injuries, and
risk factors in 1990 and projected to 2020.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard School of Public Health;
1996.
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