Ptsd Depression Review of Studies Done in Sub Sahara Arica

Abstract

Approximately half of people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) also suffer from depression which is a Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). The current paper examines evidence for two explanations of this comorbidity. First, that the comorbidity reflects overlapping symptoms in the two disorders. Second, that the co-occurrence of PTSD and MDD is not an artifact, but represents a trauma-related phenotype, possibly a subtype of PTSD. Support for the latter explanation is inferred from literature that examines risk and biological correlates of PTSD and MDD, including molecular processes. Treatment implications of the comorbidity are considered. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression comorbidity is highly common. Many hypotheses concerning this relation have been raised but the pertinent issues, including the wide clinical picture of this comorbidity, are still not clear. They are also arguably the most common psychiatric disorders such as depression to arise after exposure to a traumatic event. Approximately half of people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) also suffer from Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). Although there are many factors associated with symptom severity, including PTSD and depression comorbidity, there is no agreement in the literature on the generalizability of these factors across different populations. Therefore, the knowledge of population-specific findings would be more appropriate and helpful to address the clinical difficulties associated with PTSD and depression comorbidity in different populations.