Epidemiological and economic aspects of depressive disorders in germany - Prevalence, sex differences, discovery rates and treatment prevalence

Depressive disorders are presently considered to be a major medical and health economy challenge. This paper reports on current data on prevalence, sex differences, discovery rate and treatment prevalence as well as on the economic significance of depressive disorders. Whereas presently it does not appear to be quite clear whether the incidence of depressive disorders is increasing, there has been a definite increase in treatment expenditure in Germany during the past few years. This applies in particular to the socalled indirect cost items and transfer expenditure. The extent to which treatment according to guidelines, care and increased primary preventiom have contributed to the overall cost is discussed.