Depression kills 200 persons annually in TT

Fifteen people in every 100,000 die by suicide every year in Trinidad as a result of depression, and if we have a population of 1.3 million, that would equate 200 deaths per year. Consultant psychiatrist at the St Ann’s Hospital, Dr Indar Ramtahal, said depression is a disease, a disorder, a medical illness. “It’s no different from diabetes and there is no cure.” Dr Ramtahal spoke before a large gathering at the Kappa Drugs customer education seminar on ‘‘Depression and Anxiety,’ yesterday, at the Chamber of Commerce, Westmoorings.

He said that depression, a mood disorder whereby one loses the ability to control emotions, is the leading cause of disabilitic (absenteeism, lateness on the job, etc) worldwide and under the umbrella of psychiatric illnesses, it is the leading cause for 31 percent of illnesses globally. “A lot of it (depression) is genetic in nature and for others, it is as a result of life events. Fifteen percent of men experience it in their lifetime and one in every four or five women get depression. The main risk factors for women are low education level, unstable marital history and postpartum status,” Ramtahal said.

Other risk factors which promote depression, he said, were divorce, substance abuse, social isolation and, according to recent studies, the loss of one’s mother before one reaches age 11. Among the tell tale signs of someone who is depressed, he added, are a loss of zeal for life, sadness, loss of interest or pleasure, lack of feeling, apathy, anxiety, tension, irritability and feeling of emptiness. Other symptoms were thought or cognition, where the memory becomes impaired; and indecisiveness or vacillation, where persons have problems making simple decisions in life. “Another symptom is psychomotor activity where there is a retardation, a slowing down of body movements, stupor; and somatic manifestation where the patient experiences insomnia, decreased appetite and is easily fatigued. If a person shows five out of nine of these main symptoms over a period of two weeks, a diagnosis is made.”

He said that depression in children and adolescents can, in most cases, be determined by one’s mental status and conduct. “They exhibit a negative view of self and the world, give you single word answers. They have a conduct or behavioural problem so you notice changes in their behaviour for no good reason and they are anti-social,” said Dr Ramtahal. He said that psycho therapy treatment, a “talking treatment’’ geared towards psycho education of the patient, is recommended for mild cases of depression, and in cases of severe depression, a combination of psycho and drug therapy is practiced.