Every year millions of people suffer with depression. It is a negative factor in many people’s daily routines, affecting their wellbeing and making it difficult for them to enjoy their lives. Unfortunately, even though so many people battle with the condition on a daily basis, our knowledge and understanding of it is still limited. However, now it seems that our best chance of treating the issue comes in breaking it down into two separate categories, melancholic and non-melancholic, and caring differently for each of them.
Melancholic depression is defined as involving typical depression symptoms such as a depressed mood. Non-melancholic depression typically involves other types of symptoms including low self-esteem and regular feelings of worry and anxiety. The findings of the study suggest that doctors should now consider the two sub-types as very separate issues which should be prescribed with different drugs and care.
The researchers suggested, for example, that it would be sensible to avoid giving sufferers of non-melancholic medication that can cause them to gain weight. On the other side, it makes sense to look at the quality of the diet of those who suffer the symptoms of melancholic depression.
The research looked at nearly 3,000 middle-aged and elderly Finnish people and examined the different effects of depression. They discovered that low levels of folate and vitamin B12 increases the risk of melancholic depressive symptoms, but doesn’t increase the risk of non-melancholic depression. Conversely, developing non-melancholic depression leads to an increased risk for the metabolic syndrome.
The study was the first of its kind to look at depression as having two different sub-types. While obviously far more research needs to be done to make a broader scientific assessment, it seems to be the case that depression should be broken down into separate categories and treated differently according the patient.
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