Financial Costs of the Chronic Illness Depression - Essay Example

Moreover, some are burdened with remembering facts, or making decisions, and may consider or attempt suicide. Insomnia, excessive sleeping, exhaustion, loss of drive, or aches, discomforts, or digestive difficulties that are resilient to treatment may also be existing. It is noted that depressed mood is not essentially a psychiatric illness. It may be a standard reaction to certain life actions, a symptom of particular medical conditions, or consequence of certain drugs or medical treatments.

Depressed mood is, furthermore, a prime or associated piece of certain psychiatric conditions such as clinical depression (Murray & Lopez, 1997). Evaluation Since 1997, the World Health Organization (WHO) termed depression as the second greatest reason of disability in the universe. This view was armour-plated by a major study led by the WHO and printed in 2002. In this study, the burden of depression was linked with that of other chronic illnesses comprising angina, arthritis, asthma and diabetes.

It is worth noting that in this research, approximately a quarter of a million people in 60 nations were studied. It was noted that after consenting for socioeconomic influences and other health situations, depression had the main effect on worsening health, and individuals with depression in addition to extra chronic illness had the nastiest health measures of all disease conditions. As a result, depression affects the economy the most, either directly or indirectly. The extensive economic burden of depression comprises the cost of giving health and social care.

This pegged with the loss of output and time off work, the problem on caregivers, and loss of salaries or reliance on national benefits weighs heavily on the economic perspective of depression. In this setting, depression has been labelled as an illness that is “chronic and regular in nature. As a result, it impairs family life, lessens social adjustment, and hence translates to be a burden on the community”. It is crucial to state that the burden of depression is relatively high because it is very communal (Murray & Lopez, 1997).

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) approximates that 9.8 percent of persons that are between 16 to 65 year old in the UK suffer from variegated depression and anxiety. One in five individuals affected by depression will fail to recover fully from a primary episode. Moreover, 70–80 percent of those realizing remission, depression will relapse at least once (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, 2004). The long-term habitual nature of depression amplifies its wider economic weight.

It is usually noted that people diagnosed with depression more often than not find it tough to engage in social activities. These include but are not limited to family life and work. It is worth noting that treating depression can be costly. This is usually the case especially in circumstances the individual affected with depression is also diagnosed with other accompanying illnesses as mentioned previously. This causes the individual not only to be treated for depression, but also for the extra illness making it to be expensive.

In addition to extraordinary healthcare costs, the incapacity associated with depression can border the activities and efficiency of affected individuals. It is worth noting that the efficiency and productivity of persons with depression is greater than that told with other chronic physical illnesses. The