The Importance of Efficient Depression Management in Primary Care
Authors: Christos G. Theleritis, Thomas J. Paparrigopoulos, George N. Papadimitriou
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2008)

Letters1 April 2008The Importance of Efficient Depression Management in Primary CareChristos G. Theleritis, MD, Thomas J. Paparrigopoulos, MD, and George N. Papadimitriou, MDChristos G. Theleritis, MDFrom Athens University Medical School, Eginition Hospital, Athens, Greece.Search for more papers by this author, Thomas J. Paparrigopoulos, MDFrom Athens University Medical School, Eginition Hospital, Athens, Greece.Search for more papers by this author, and George N. Papadimitriou, MDFrom Athens University Medical School, Eginition Hospital, Athens, Greece.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-148-7-200804010-00018 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:In their recent article, Hepner and colleagues (1) mention that depression rarely leads to death. This is astonishing, because patients with major depression have an increased overall relative risk for death (1.81 [95% CI, 1.58 to 2.07]) compared with people without depression (2). Even for subclinical depression, this risk is no smaller than the relative risk associated with clinical depression (2). A large part of the increased mortality in depression is due to the risk for suicide (4 to 16 times higher than that in persons without depression) (3).In this context, we consider the results of ...References1. Hepner KA, Rowe M, Rost K, Hickey SC, Sherbourne CD, Ford DE, et al. The effect of adherence to practice guidelines on depression outcomes. Ann Intern Med. 2007;147:320-9. [PMID: 17785487] LinkGoogle Scholar2. Cuijpers P, Smit F. Excess mortality in depression: a meta-analysis of community studies. J Affect Disord. 2002;72:227-36. [PMID: 12450639] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Bostwick JM, Pankratz VS. Affective disorders and suicide risk: a reexamination. Am J Psychiatry. 2000;157:1925-32. [PMID: 11097952] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Gilbody S, Whitty P, Grimshaw J, Thomas R. Educational and organizational interventions to improve the management of depression in primary care: a systematic review. JAMA. 2003;289:3145-51. [PMID: 12813120] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Dobscha SK, Corson K, Hickam DH, Perrin NA, Kraemer DF, Gerrity MS. Depression decision support in primary care: a cluster randomized trial. Ann Intern Med. 2006;145:477-87. [PMID: 17015865] LinkGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: From Athens University Medical School, Eginition Hospital, Athens, Greece.Disclosures: None disclosed. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoDepression Decision Support in Primary Care: A Cluster Randomized Trial Steven K. Dobscha , Kathryn Corson , David H. Hickam , Nancy A. Perrin , Dale F. Kraemer , and Martha S. Gerrity The Effect of Adherence to Practice Guidelines on Depression Outcomes Kimberly A. Hepner , Melissa Rowe , Kathryn Rost , Scot C. Hickey , Cathy D. Sherbourne , Daniel E. Ford , Lisa S. Meredith , and Lisa V. Rubenstein The Importance of Efficient Depression Management in Primary Care Lisa V. Rubenstein and Kimberly A. Hepner Metrics 1 April 2008Volume 148, Issue 7Page: 562KeywordsConflicts of interestNursesNursing educationSuicideTreatment guidelines ePublished: 1 April 2008 Issue Published: 1 April 2008 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2008 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...