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Depressive illness, the most common problem seen by practicing psychiatrists, continues to occupy the attention of investigators, even after the many reports from the major multisite study, Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression (STAR*D)).
This past year, we learned more about the dangerous sequelae of depression. Depressive symptoms seemed to immediately precede onset of acute coronary syndrome, and depressed patients reported poor adherence to cardiac risk-reduction behaviors, which might mediate the poor cardiac outcomes associated with depression. Researchers associated depression with a tendency to initiate use of prescribed opioids. Osteoporosis has been associated with depression-like behaviors in animals and, most rec…