Effective and well-tolerated antidepressants can successfully treat depression and improve the status of comorbid illnesses by enhancing overall function, treatment adherence, and survival time.
Effective treatment of depression in primary care can improve outcomes for comorbid medical conditions.
Caring for patients with depression who have comorbid medical conditions is a major challenge for primary care physicians. Depression is often difficult to diagnose in a primary care setting, and comorbidity vastly complicates diagnosis because of physiologic interactions and shared symptoms. Furthermore, physicians face the difficulty of developing a treatment plan that improves the outcome of multiple conditions at the same time. Fortunately, because of the recent development of effective and well-tolerated antidepressants, successful treatment and long-term management of depression are relatively straightforward and often greatly improve the status of the comorbid illness as well by improving overall function, treatment adherence, recovery rates, and survival time.
Larry Culpepper (Sat,) conducted a review in Depression with medical comorbidities. Antidepressants was evaluated. Effective and well-tolerated antidepressants can successfully treat depression and improve the status of comorbid illnesses by enhancing overall function, treatment adherence, and survival time.