In any given 1-year period, 9.5 percent of the population, or about 20.9 million American adults, suffer from a depressive illness. The economic cost for this disorder is high, but the cost in human suffering cannot be estimated. Depressive illnesses often interfere with normal functioning and cause pain and suffering not only to those who have a disorder, but also to those who care about them. Serious depression can destroy family life as well as the life of the ill person. Depression is also imposes a major economic burden via lost productivity. Depression may also increase the risk of a variety of other common diseases, including ischemic heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
Most individuals with depression seek care from general internists and other primary care providers; few seek care from mental health specialists. In contrast, the care of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia are supervised by psychiatrists and other specialists. However, these forms of serious mental illness are often complicated by medical conditions that complicate their care and confer significant mortality risk. In many cases, these comorbid conditions arise as adverse effects of antipsychotic medications. Information about the faculty working in this research area and their projects is provided below.
Lisa Cooper, MD, MPH
Professor of Medicine, Epidemiology, and Health Behavior and Society; Core Faculty, Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology, and Clincal Research
Research Interests: Health disparities in depression care; spirituality; physician-patient relationship and communication
To see publication abstracts (PUBMED) click here.
Gail Daumit, MD, MHS
Associate Professor of Medicine, Epidemiology, and Health Policy and Management; Core Faculty, Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology, and Clinical Research
Research Interests: Epidemiology and prevention of comorbid disease in serious mental illness
To see publication abstracts (PUBMED) click here.
Daniel Ford, MD, MPH
Professor of Medicine, Epidemiology, and Health Policy and Management; Core Faculty, Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology, and Clinical Research
Research Interests: Epidemiology and treatment of depression in primary care
To see publication abstracts (PUBMED) click here.
Tiffany Gary, PhD, MHS
Assistant Professor of Epidemiology and Medicine; Core Faculty, Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology, and Clinical Research
Research Interests: Depression and type 2 diabetes
To see publication abstracts (PUBMED) click here.
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