{"title":"Preventing the onset of depressive disorders in low-and middle-income countries: An overview.","authors":"Pim Cuijpers","doi":"10.1017/gmh.2023.22","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Depressive disorders constitute an important and costly public health problem and worldwide most of the disease burden is suffered in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs). Treatments only have limited possibilities to reduce the disease burden of depressive disorders. Prevention may be one of the alternative ways to further reduce the disease burden of depressive disorders. In this paper, the results of a subgroup analysis of a previous meta-analysis on the effect of preventive interventions on the incidence of depressive disorders was undertaken. Only 6% of all trials examining the possibility to prevent the onset of major depression have been conducted in LMICs, and these studies find significantly smaller effects than those in high-income settings. It is too early, therefore, to consider implementing and disseminating preventive interventions in LMICS. However, in optimal conditions and assuming that evidence-based preventive interventions will be developed, investments should be made into treatment, universal, selective and indicated prevention, as well as in social institutions focusing on larger risk factors for mental health problems.</p>","PeriodicalId":48579,"journal":{"name":"Global Mental Health","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.3000,"publicationDate":"2023-05-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10579668/pdf/","citationCount":"1","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Global Mental Health","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1017/gmh.2023.22","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2023/1/1 0:00:00","PubModel":"eCollection","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"PSYCHIATRY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 1
Abstract
Depressive disorders constitute an important and costly public health problem and worldwide most of the disease burden is suffered in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs). Treatments only have limited possibilities to reduce the disease burden of depressive disorders. Prevention may be one of the alternative ways to further reduce the disease burden of depressive disorders. In this paper, the results of a subgroup analysis of a previous meta-analysis on the effect of preventive interventions on the incidence of depressive disorders was undertaken. Only 6% of all trials examining the possibility to prevent the onset of major depression have been conducted in LMICs, and these studies find significantly smaller effects than those in high-income settings. It is too early, therefore, to consider implementing and disseminating preventive interventions in LMICS. However, in optimal conditions and assuming that evidence-based preventive interventions will be developed, investments should be made into treatment, universal, selective and indicated prevention, as well as in social institutions focusing on larger risk factors for mental health problems.
期刊介绍:
lobal Mental Health (GMH) is an Open Access journal that publishes papers that have a broad application of ‘the global point of view’ of mental health issues. The field of ‘global mental health’ is still emerging, reflecting a movement of advocacy and associated research driven by an agenda to remedy longstanding treatment gaps and disparities in care, access, and capacity. But these efforts and goals are also driving a potential reframing of knowledge in powerful ways, and positioning a new disciplinary approach to mental health. GMH seeks to cultivate and grow this emerging distinct discipline of ‘global mental health’, and the new knowledge and paradigms that should come from it.