Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2016 Nov;57(11):591-597.
doi: 10.11622/smedj.2016174.

Major depression in primary care: making the diagnosis

Chung Wai Mark Ng  1 , Choon How How  2 , Yin Ping Ng  3   4
Affiliations

Major depression in primary care: making the diagnosis

Chung Wai Mark Ng et al. Singapore Med J. 2016 Nov.

Abstract

Major depression is a common condition seen in the primary care setting, often presenting with somatic symptoms. It is potentially a chronic illness with considerable morbidity, and a high rate of relapse and recurrence. Major depression has a bidirectional relationship with chronic diseases, and a strong association with increased age and coexisting mental illnesses (e.g. anxiety disorders). Screening can be performed using clinical tools for major depression, such as the Patient Health Questionaire-2, Patient Health Questionaire-9 and Beck Depression Inventory, so that timely treatment can be initiated. An accurate diagnosis of major depression and its severity is essential for prompt treatment to reduce morbidity and mortality. This is the first of a series of articles that illustrates the approach to the management of major depression in primary care. Our next articles will cover suicide risk assessment in a depressed patient and outline the basic principles of management and treatment modalities.

Keywords: major depression; primary care.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Box 1
Box 1
Persons at risk of major depression include those with
Box 2
Box 2
DSM-5 criteria for major depressive episode(1)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 5th ed. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association; 2013.
    1. Chong SA, Abdin E, Vaingankar JA, et al. A population-based survey of mental disorders in Singapore. Ann Acad Med Singapore. 2012;41:49–66. - PubMed
    1. Subramaniam M, Abdin E, Sambasivam R, et al. Prevalence of depression among older adults--results from the Well-being of the Singapore Elderly study. Ann Acad Med Singapore. 2016;45:123–33. - PubMed
    1. Judd LL, Akiskal HS, Maser JD, et al. A prospective 12-year study of subsyndromal and syndromal depressive symptoms in unipolar major depressive disorders. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1998;55:694–700. - PubMed
    1. Burcusa SL, Iacono WG. Risk for recurrence in depression. Clin Psychol Rev. 2007;27:959–85. - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources