Depression as a systemic illness

Depression has been declared by the World Health Organization in March of 2017 to be the illness with the greatest burden of disease in the world. This volume attempts to examine the current state of our understanding of depressive disorders, from the animal models, allostatie load, patterns of recurrence, effects on other illnesses, for example, cancer, neurological, cardiovascular, wound healing, etc. It is from this perspective that the editors declare that depression is a systemic illness, not just a mental disorder. Therefore, primary care physicians need to know how to diagnose, treat, and refer when necessary for the non-complicated, non-refractory forms of depression. From this perspective models of mental health training for the primary care physician are reviewed. Then a new model, the medical model, a step beyond collaborative care is described. Non complicated depressive illness needs to be addressed by the primary care physician much as they do asthma, diabetes, hyptertension, and congestive heart failure. Even collaborative care models are unable as the number of psychiatrists is too few even in developed countries, let alone in developing ones to work with primary care. Medical schools and residency training programs need to incorporate curriculum and clinical experiences to accommodate developing expertise to diagnose, treat, and refer when necessary in this most common medical malady. Finally, a modified electronic medical record is proposed as a collaborating agent for the primary care physician.

The biological basis of depression : insights from animal models / Eric J. Nestler -- The brain and body on stress : allostatic load and mechanisms for depression and dementia / Bruce S. McEwen and Natalie L. Rasgon -- Depression as a recurrent, progressive illness : need for long-term prevention / Robert M. Post -- Biological effects of depression in cardiac illness / Nicole Mavrides and Charles Nemeroff -- Biological effects of depression : risk for and occurrence of stroke / Bradleigh Hayhow and Sergio Starkstein -- Depression and cancer / Daniel C McFarland and Jimmie Holland -- Depression in neurologic disorders : comorbidity or another clinical manifestation? / Andres M. Kanner -- Depression and diabetes and endocrine disorders / Eduardo A. Colón -- Wound healing and depression / Frederick J Stoddard Jr and Robert L. Sheridan -- Psychopharmacological issues in the treatment of depression as a systemic illness : focus on adverse drug reactions and drug-drug interactions / Kelly L. Cozza, Rita Rein, Gary H. Wynn, and Eric G. Meyer -- Diagnostic dilemmas / James J. Strain, Patricia Casey, and Peter Tyrer -- Models of mental health training for non-psychiatric physicians : beyon…