Prevalence of Depression in Selected Populations

Prevalence of Depression in Selected Populations :

Condition	Prevalence (%)
Cancer	20-38
Chronic fatigue syndrome	17-46
Chronic pain	21-32
Coronary artery disease	16-19
Cushing’s syndrome	67
Dementia	11-40
Diabetes mellitus	24
Epilepsy	55
Hemodialysis	6.5
HIV infection	30
Huntington’s disease	41
Hyperthyroidism	31
Multiple sclerosis	6-57
Parkinson’s disease	28-51
Stroke	27

When depression is causally related to another illness hypothyroidism, for example, treatment of the underlying condition may be enough to produce improvement of mood. In

other cases, depression may take an independent, progressive course requiring initiation of mood-altering medication and frequent patient reevaluation. The greatest challenge for primary care providers is to distinguish between normal reactions to a

major illness, such as sadness and lack of activity, and symptoms of persistent clinical depression.