FINE GAEL has expressed concern at research that suggests a high level of concealment of depression among the population.
The party’s spokesman on mental health, Dan Neville, said a survey of anxiety disorders in Ireland found that 35 per cent of people who had experienced depression, either personally or among family members, concealed the illness from friends and family at the time.
The figures emerged in the recent Lundbeck Mental Health Barometer 2009, now in its fifth year of research on attitudes and perceptions of depression and anxiety disorder.
Mr Neville, who is also president of the Irish Association of Suicidology, said the results were “deeply worrying”.
“Early intervention is crucial to full recovery, particularly in the case of young people. Increased awareness and understanding of depression will lead to earlier recognition of the condition, earlier treatment, and earlier recovery will lead to significant health benefits in the long run. In turn, this will also result in a significant economic gain in the level of productivity and a reduction in demand for psychiatric services.”
Mr Neville said the World Health Organisation estimated depression would be the second most disabling medical disorder in the world for all ages by 2020. It is currently the second most disabling in the 15-44 age group.
Advocacy and support group Aware estimates one in 10 people in Ireland suffers from depression, and that one in three people will be affected directly or indirectly by it in their lifetime.
International pharmaceutical group Lundbeck carries out research to find new drugs for treatment of disorders such as depression, schizophrenia, Parkinson’s disease and insomnia.