If the extent of human suffering were used to decide which diseases deserve the most medical attention, then depression would be near the top of the list. More than 350 million people are affected by depression, making it one of the most common disorders in the world. It is the biggest cause of disability, and as many as two-thirds of those who commit suicide have the condition.
But although depression is common, it is often ignored. Three-quarters of people with depression in the United Kingdom go undiagnosed or untreated — and even if the disorder is diagnosed, today's medications will work well for only about half of those who seek help. “It's unbelievable,” says Tom Foley, a psychiatrist at Newcastle University, UK. “If that was the case in cancer care, it would be an absolute scandal.”
The comparison between depression and cancer is a common one. Cancer, too, is a terrible blight: it affects more than 32 million people and kills some 8 million a year, many more than depression. But at least in developed countries, the vast majority of people with recognized cancers do receive treatment.
[For more of this story, go to http://www.scientificamerican....attention-as-cancer/]
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