Major Depression

1
Major Depression

• By Mr Daniel Hansson

2
Major Depression

• Symptoms
• Prevalence
• Etiology
• Evaluation
• Conclusion

3
Symptoms (DSM-IV-TR)

• Affective Feelings of guilt and sadness, lack of
  enjoyment or pleasure in familiar activities or
  company
• Behavioural Passivity, lack of initiative
• Cognitive Frequent negative thoughts, faulty
  attribution of blame, low self esteem, suicidal
  thoughts, irrational hopelessness, difficulties
  in concentration and inability to make decisions
• Somatic Loss of energy, insomnia, or
  hypersomnia, weight loss/gain, diminished sex
  drive

4
Symptoms

• One or two major depressive episodes
• At least two weeks of depressed mood or loss of
  interest accompanied with at least four
  additional symptoms of depression

5
Prevalence

• Life time prevalence for the disorder Women
  10-25 Men 5-12
• The average age to have the first major
  depression Mid 20s
• The onset age is decreasing
• One episode 60 of a second
• Two or three episodes 70-90 of a following
  episode
• One year after diagnosis 40 are free of
  symptoms, 20 have some symptoms, 40 meet full
  criteria of the disorder

6
Prevalence

• More common in individualistic than
  collectivistic cultures
• Seattle, Washington 6.3
• China 4
• Verona, Italy 4.7
• Groningen, Germany 15.9
• Manchester, United Kingdom 16.9
• Ankara, Turkey 11.6
• Nagasaki, Japan 2.6

7
Etiology

• Biological
• Cognitive
• Sociocultural

8
Biological

• Genetic and biochemical factors in depression
• E.g. Caspi (2003), Lykken Tellegen (1996)

9
Cognitive

• A depressed mood may lead to depressed thoughts
• Depressed cognitions, cognitive distortions, and
  irrational beliefs produce disturbances in mood
• E.g. Goldapple (2004), Lyon Woods (1991)

10
Sociocultural

• Social and cultural factors affect the prevalence
  and manifestation of the disorder
• E.g. Harris (1978), Cutrona, Wallace, Wesner
  (2006)

11
Evaluation

• Can be used for therapy
• Supporting research
• -Methodological problems with research
• -Simplistic Each perspective emphasizes one
  factor

12
Conclusion

• An interactionistic explanation of major
  depressive disorder is preferable, e.g. the
  diathesis-stress model or the biopsychosocial
  model