Depression is a family matter: report

12/06/2009

Last Updated: 2009-06-10 17:05:27 -0400 (Reuters Health)

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In a report released today at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, the National Research Council and Institute of Medicine call for a new family-focused model of depression care to minimize risks and problems for parents with depression and prevent possible spillover effects in their children.

"To break the vicious circle of depression, we need to refocus our view of this illness through a broader lens that sees the whole family, not just the individual with depression," committee chair and psychiatrist Dr. Mary Jane England, president of Regis College, Weston, Massachusetts, noted in a prepared statement.

"Our report describes a new vision for depression care that would provide comprehensive services not just to adults, but to their children as well. It will take significant policy changes to make this vision a reality, but the benefits warrant the effort," England added.

In a given year, an estimated 7.5 million adults with depression have a child under the age of 18 living with them, accounting to the report committee members. It is estimated that 15.6 million children live in households with parents who suffer from "major or severe" depression.

Depression in parents interferes with parenting quality and boosts the odds of health, emotional, and behavioral problems in children, the committee warns.

Effective screening tools and treatments for adult depression are available and offer substantial promise for reducing the negative consequences of the disorder, the committee notes. Yet, only one in three adult depression sufferers get adequate treatment.

"In short, parental depression is prevalent, but a comprehensive strategy to treat the depressed adult and to prevent problems in the children in their care is absent," the committee concludes.

To successfully move to a family-focused model of depression care, federal and state agencies, nonprofits, and the private sector will have to work together to develop nontraditional ways of organizing, paying for, and delivering services, the committee acknowledges.