CIRCADIAN rhythm disorders driven by changes in the sleep-wake cycle have been identified as one of the major causes of depression.
Misdiagnosis and/or sub-optimal treatment of depression and the relatively little attention paid to changes to circadian rhythms that control physical, mental and behavioural patterns that follow roughly a 24-hour cycle is further hampering treatment of this malady.
“Up to 82% of depressed patients remain untreated due to social stigma, misdiagnosis, and under-treatment. More depressed patients are seen by primary care doctors than by actual psychiatrists, and a majority of them are not diagnosed. The remaining 18% receive antidepressant medications, but only 10% are adequately treated,” noted Prof Dr Mohamad Hussain Habil, past president of the Asian Federation for Psychiatry and Mental Health (AFPMH) at a media workshop organised by Servier Malaysia on “Circadian Rhythms and Depression” in conjunction with Mental Health Month.
“Hence, it is extremely important to develop a better understanding of the correlation between circadian rhythm disorders and depression to improve the recognition and management of the disease.
1 comment:
Yes. Exactly. It is very important to build better understanding of the correlation between circadian rhythm disorders and depression to improve the recognition and management of the disease. Good informative post.
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