What is it about?
In the paper, I argue that the label of "major depression" is too broad. It applies to individuals who have a severe mental illness as well as to those who may be understandably sad as a result of life experiences. Because of this, around 30-50% of people can meet criteria for "major" depression. Most of these episodes are mild, last less than three months and are unlikely to recur. By contrast, other individuals have depressions that are very severe, chronic, or unlikely to respond to treatment.
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Why is it important?
Although much is written about what a severe disorder depression is, this piece integrates some of the newer findings from epidemiological studies, which paints a picture of depression as having outcomes that vary a lot between individuals.
Perspectives
I had been meaning to write this piece for a while because it focuses on one side of the epidemiology of depression that is not often discussed: that depression can be time limited, unlikely to recur, placebo-responding, and fairly common. I think most researchers focus on what a disabling condition depression can be, partly due to the stigma that is associated with it. Oftentimes people instead think of depression as something that's made up or due to a lack of friends or weak character. I wanted to paint a broader picture of depression using the epidemiological and treatment data. This piece was inspired in large part by the book The Loss of Sadness by Allan Horwitz and Jerome Wakefield.
Mr Lorenzo Lorenzo-Luaces
University of Pennsylvania
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Heterogeneity in the prognosis of major depression: from the common cold to a highly debilitating and recurrent illness, Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences, June 2015, Cambridge University Press,
DOI: 10.1017/s2045796015000542.
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