ISSUES IN THE DIAGNOSIS OF MAJOR DEPRESSION

Major depressive disorder is a serious and often chronic health proble m that affects a significant portion of the population, It is associat ed with Substantial morbidity and mortality, Early diagnosis and treat ment of major depressive disorder significantly improves functioning, quality of life, and prognosis, However, because diagnosing the disord er can be difficult, depression frequently goes undetected and untreat ed. Clinicians must remember that the experience of and ability to com municate depressive symptoms can be affected by age, culture, and gend er. They must also be aware that many patients complain of somatic sym ptoms rather than allude to feelings of depression. Questions for clin icians to consider when making a differential diagnosis include: Is th e patient experiencing true depression or a normal reaction to a stres sful life event? Can the depression be linked to an existing medical c ondition or drug therapy? Does the patient actually have another psych iatric illness that shares some features with depression? Patients mee ting the diagnostic criteria for major depression can be further class ified into subtypes of depression that carry prognostic and treatment implications.