Assessment of Depression
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Dr. NORMAN SARTORIUS Director, Division of Mental Health World Health Organization, CH-1211 Geneva 27 Professor of Psychiatry, University of Zagreb Professeur invite a charge partielle, Universite de Geneve Dr. THOMAS A. BAN Professor of Psychiatry Vanderbilt University, 242 Medical Arts Building 1211 21st Avenue, South, Nashville, TN 37212, USA
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data. Main entry under title: Assessment of depression. Bibliography: p. Includes index. 1. Depression, Mental - Diagnosis. I. Sartorius, N. II. Ban, Thomas A. RC537.A87 1985 616.85'27075 85-20784 ISBN-13: 978-3-642-70488-8 e-ISBN-13: 978-3-642-70486-4 DOl: 10.1007/978-3-642-70486-4 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically those of translation, reprinting, re-use of illustrations, broadcasting, reproduction by photocopying machine or similar means, and storage in data banks. Under § 54 of the German Copyright Law where copies are made for other than private use, a fee is payable to "Verwertungsgesellschaft Wort", Munich. © by Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 1986 Softcover reprint of the Hardcover Ist edition 1986 The use of registered names, trademarks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. Product Liability: The publisher can give no guarantee for information about drug dosage and application thereof contained in this book. In every individual case the respective user must check its accuracy by consulting other pharmaceutical literature. Typesetting, printing and binding: Druckerei Appl, Wemding 2125/3130-543210
Foreword
Depressive illnesses, as epidemiological studies have consistently shown, are among the most frequent psychic disorders encountered in hospital and everyday practice. Moreover, during the last few decades the prevalence of depression has definitely been increasing. Its alarming frequency - especially among women - has recently been confirmed once again by epidemiological findings published in the United States of America. The World Health Organization estimates the world-wide prevalence of depression at 3% to 5%. Among the factors contributing to the current increase are excessively abrupt changes in social structures and living conditions, as well as a departure from traditional values which is often accompanied by disruption of the family unit and loss of religious faith. Further factors include the unfettered materialism of the modern age, the hectic pace of technological progress, and the loneliness to which elderly people in particular are exposed. Finally, the increasing life expectancy of the population in almost all countries of the world raises the incidence of cardiovascular disorders, brain disease, and malignant tumors, thus inevitably adding to the risk of depressive illness in old
