Screening for Depression

Many primary-care physicians now screening patients for depression.
On the front of its Personal Journal section, the Wall Street Journal (12/7, D1, Landro, subscription required) reports in "The Informed Patient" that many primary-care physicians are now routinely screening patients for depression using specially designed questionnaires, such as the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9) for that purpose. Such screening may help improve treatment rates. In 2009, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration found that fewer than 38% of US adults with a mental illness got any sort of treatment at all. The article goes on to explain how depression often goes hand-in-hand with physical problems, such as obesity, diabetes, or heart disease.
Mindfulness therapy may be as effective as antidepressants in protecting against depression relapse. The CNN (12/6, Landau) "The Chart" blog reported, "A new study published [in] the Archives of General Psychiatry finds that depression patients in remission who underwent mindfulness therapy did as well as those who took an antidepressant, and better than those who took a placebo." In other words, "that means that mindfulness therapy was as effective as antidepressants in protecting against a relapse of depression." The blog entry explained that "mindfulness generally refers to the concept of being present and in the moment."