When women hurt in mind and body: Managing depression and physical symptoms

Authors

Donna E. StewartFollow
Marta Meana, University of Nevada, Las VegasFollow
Kathleen T. Brady
Vivien K. Burt

Editors

David L. Ginsberg

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2004

Publication Title

Primary Psychiatry

Volume

11

First page number:

1

Last page number:

12

Abstract

It is estimated that depression will become the second most disabling condition worldwide by the year 2020. Overcoming some of the challenges of global epidemiology, studies worldwide have shown that women are affected by depression at twice the rate of men, with earlier age of onset and higher rates of hospitalization. Depression in young women can cause failure during critical life transitions, such as occupational advancement and child rearing, which has a cascading effect on the severity and chronic course of depression. This is compounded by the fact that speed of initial treatment contact is inversely related to age. Depression in both men and women is a treatable condition that may be ameliorated if detected and addressed at early onset. Physicians must be aware that while emotional symptoms are usually the focus of the diagnosis and treatment of depression, many depressed patients present only with physical symptoms. New evidence suggests a common neurochemical pathway for the physical symptoms in depression, which implicates both serotonin and norepinephrine dysregulation. Dual reuptake inhibitors may have advantages over selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and tricyclic antidepressants in achieving a more robust response and complete remission of depression.

Keywords

Depression in women; Depression; Mental--Sex differences; Depression; Mental—Treatment; Serotonin uptake inhibitors

Disciplines

Community-Based Research | Health Psychology | Medicine and Health | Psychiatry and Psychology | Psychology

Language

English

Permissions

Use Find in Your Library, contact the author, or use interlibrary loan to garner a copy of the article. Publisher copyright policy allows author to archive post-print (author’s final manuscript). When post-print is available or publisher policy changes, the article will be deposited

Repository Citation

Stewart, D. E., Meana, M., Brady, K. T., Burt, V. K. (2004). When women hurt in mind and body: Managing depression and physical symptoms. In David L. Ginsberg, Primary Psychiatry, 11 1-12.