2023-06-23 15:40:53
In Puglia there is an increase in the spread of depression among young people. “In 10 years we are talking about 15%”, calculate the experts. “The beginnings – they report – always occur earlier: if once the peak occurred between the ages of 20 and 25, today cases of depression are already recorded at the age of 13-14. Among the causes of depression, and its growing numbers, recently one has become the subject of numerous studies and research: the correlation with insomnia, increasingly widespread even at a very young age”. This is what emerged from the course ‘Affective disorders in the age of unpredictability’, dedicated to family doctors and specialists in psychiatry and neurology. The event, sponsored by the Municipality of Bari, was organized in the Apulian capital by the Italian Society of Neuropsychopharmacology (Sinpf) and by the Onda Foundation (National Observatory on Women’s and Gender Health) with the contribution of Viatris, a global company operating in the area of health.
“In Puglia, as in the rest of Italy, 20% of the population has had an episode of depression at least once in their life – recalls the Sinpf – In Puglia, making a simple proportion with Istat data, we are talking about 700 thousand people in the 15-90 age group, in a ratio of two to one, unfavorable to women”.
“Affective disorders are one of the main causes of what we call ‘syndemic’ – says Claudio Mencacci, co-president of Sinfp and emeritus director of psychiatry at the Fatebenefratelli hospital in Milan – A sort of mix between the ‘physical’ effects of pandemic and what it has caused, including other health and emotional pathologies, with a strong impact of a social, environmental and relational nature, exacerbated today by the uncertainty dominated by an international scenario of war very close to us and which has touched the our daily life”. The president of the Onda Foundation, Francesca Merzagora explains: “With this initiative we want to provide doctors with a series of information and tools useful for dealing with their patients with this very difficult historical phase and from which we were just emerging a war broke out on the borders of Europe. We were slowly recreating our ‘safe place’ after the pandemic, and everything was called into question again, especially for the most defenseless categories such as women and adolescents”.
“Women are the most affected because in their lives there are moments in which they are more vulnerable to this type of problem – highlights Guido Di Sciascio, national secretary of Sinpf and acting director of the mental health department of the ASL of Bari – Let’s think of for example in the last trimester of pregnancy (perinatal depression), or around 30 days after delivery (postpartum depression), or even in the menstrual cycle which exposes the woman to greater fragility once a month, and finally at menopause. say gender anxiety, linked to the biological differences between the two sexes, or difficulties in relationships with children. These are all contexts that cause women to be decidedly more at risk of depression than men”.
“The truly new fact that we are observing – the specialist remarks – is an increase in younger subjects than in the past. In 10 years we are talking about 20% more. The onset always occurs earlier: if once the peak occurred between Between 20 and 25 years of age, today cases of depression are already recorded at the age of 13-14”.
“One of the main causes of depression is insomnia – underlines Mariantonietta Savarese, acting director of the UOC University Neurology ‘Fm Puca’, Aou Policlinico di Bari – A relationship that is not unique but bidirectional, since there may be a mutual influence: in 40 In fact, insomnia appears before the other symptoms in % of mood disorders.An almost entirely female problem.In the ‘Progetto Morfeo’ study, an epidemiological-observational survey conducted by the Italian Association of Sleep Medicine (Aims) with the collaboration of general practitioners throughout Italy, 67% of the sample with insomnia was represented by female individuals”.
“Women – Savarese points out – are 1.5 times more likely than men to suffer from insomnia and this value tends to increase after the age of 65. But studies are beginning to be developed on the young population, which has so far been little investigated For example, a Norwegian prospective cohort study of county residents through analysis of death registers found a doubled risk of suicide in insomnia sufferers at baseline; the most alarming finding in the study was the found a stronger association in young people between sleep problems and depression.”
“Pharmacological therapies against depression – Di Sciascio points out – are used only for the most serious situations, those that cause alterations in biological rhythms. For all other cases, the mildest depression is always fought by acting on lifestyles: introducing good habits such as physical activity, which can significantly improve mood; eliminating bad habits such as smoking or poor diet, or irregular sleep schedules; resorting to psychotherapy. In this sector, however, research is constantly committed to identifying increasingly cutting-edge solutions oriented towards the best performance for the patient’s health. We have the result before our eyes: today we have many highly effective antidepressant drugs, all very safe and well tolerated”.
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