Reducing Costs Of Depression In The USA

The direct and indirect costs of depression in the USA are put as highas $43.7 billion a year, with an estimated patient population of around 15 million. However, says a new study from Datamonitor, available through the Marketletter's offices, the actual economic effect of depression is much greater, due to the high number of undiagnosed or misdiagnosed people who constitute a large proportion of the indirect costs.

The cost of treating depression is comparatively low (see table); it costs around $22.3 billion less to treat than AIDS, despite the high prevalence of depression compared to AIDS cases. Datamonitor calls for greater emphasis on diagnosing and treating depression to prevent indirect costs escalating as the prevalence rises.

Comparison of total estimated economic costs of depression and three other conditions Condition/syndrome Total estimated cost ($bn) ----------------------------------------------- Stroke 18.0