Smileband health topics

Years of depression  can cause brain inflammation that has been linked to degenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, a new study revealed About 1.5 percent of all American adults suffer from persistent depressive disorder, a long-lasting form of the mental condition. 

Another 16.1 million face major depressive order, but the treatment approaches to the two are largely the same.

But an analysis of brain-changes among people whose depression lasted more than 10 years, done by the Canadian Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, suggested doctors may need to treat both depression itself and inflammation in these patients. The average, untreated bout of depression typically lasts a few months, according to Harvard University.

Everyone's symptoms vary in type, severity, and duration. Depression may look like irritability or simply a 'low mood.'

But the staying power of depression may make it even more difficult to diagnose, as years of the disorder come to be seen as 'normal' for the person suffering the symptoms.

This may be why the average age of diagnosis for persistent depressive disorder (PDD) is relatively late, at 31 years old.

Most research on the physical consequences of depression - no matter how long its episodes are - has pointed primarily on its effects on the experience of pain and the likelihood of developing other mental illnesses.

The condition is also known to affect eating habits and experiences. Some tend to overeat when they are depressed, others lose their appetites, and still others will experience upset stomachs.  <!-- Global site tag (gtag.js) - Google Analytics -->

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