Factors That Contribute To Depression Among Adults - Research Paper Example

?My XX English 103 14 November Factors that contribute to depression among adults As a citizen of this world, I have been sad at times. I have seen people get sad. Some of them are my colleagues at work or my classmates in school or my parents, siblings and relatives back at home. Some of them are strangers I meet and see along the way. Everyone gets sad at one time or another. But there are those I have seen get depressed – that feeling of prolonged sadness that is always written on the faces of some people. I have had been depressed in my life too. I have seen people get depressed. When you ask someone why they are depressed, some have their reasons, others do not even know why they are depressed. And the number of those suffering from depressing has been growing all over the world and has even attracted the attention of the World Health Organization. Depression has been a major challenge in the world with people of all ages and both gender suffering from depression at homes, in schools, and at places of work. Long time ago, before scientific explanations could be made, depression was seen to be a punishment from God for something human being did or failed to do. It was therefore not seen as a medical condition but as one with religious connotations. According to a Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, depression was most prevalent in persons aged 45 – 64 years. This suggests that depression is most prevalent among older adults hence the need to examine what causes depression in adults. Currently, depression is seen as a major medical condition and studies have shown a rise in the number of depressed citizens all over the world. While cases of depression rise, the factors that contribute to depression have not yet been exhaustively identified making it hard for medical practitioners to efficiently prevent the rising cases. When am depressed sometimes it is because I have lost someone through death, or I am just stressed. Those I see around me getting depressed also have their reasons, some similar to mine, others not. Like I have said before, some of them do not even know why they are depressed. There has been a plethora of opinion articles and studies dedicated to finding out the factors that contribute to depression. Even though the real causes of depression are not known, as most researchers agree, a number of factors have generally been suggested as having an influence on depression among adults. Dr. Carol Miller in her book Nursing for Wellness in Older Adults identifies the factors as demographic factors and psychosocial influences, medical conditions and functional impairments, and effects of medications and alcohol. A number of authors agree with Dr. Miller on these factors. For instance, according to ADAM Medical Encyclopedia, depression may be caused by stressful life events such as death or illness of someone close, divorce, childhood abuse or neglect, and relationship break-ups. Another stressful even related to these factors is loneliness as explained in the article and affects mostly the elderly. These are mostly psychological factors and may greatly impact the levels of depression in adults. One other related factor here is loneliness. Judy Martin in an article in Forbes magazine shows that stress is a major cause of depression at work as stressed employees to do not report their frustrations for fear of being fired at work for complaining. They therefore keep to themselves and depression sets in. As people, especially men, become depressed, they tend to hide their depression through alcohol or use of drugs. But it may also be true that in some cases, depression may be caused by alcohol use. As ADAM Medical Encyclopedia explains, men who are depressed are more likely than women to mast the symptoms with alcohol. The author agrees that while this is the case, alcohol use causes depression in adults. This also mirrors the views of Dr. Miller on alcohol as a cause of depression in adults. Medical conditions have also been seen as one of the causes of depression in adults. These conditions include underactive thyroid, cancer, or long-term pain. Some medicines such as steroids or sleeping problems could also cause depression in adults. Related to the medical conditions is a biological link where the imbalances in the brain have been identified to cause depression. Indeed, an article by the National Institute of Health agreed with the brain imbalance as a cause of depression in adults as it shows that the brains of those suffering from depression are different from those that are not depressed when scanned. A study on by several researchers titled Overweight, Obesity, and Depression: A systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Longitudinal Studies concludes that obesity was a cause of depression and therefore reinforces the medical explanation to the causes of depression. This is also consistent with what Shawn Radcliffe concludes on how weight gain is related to depression. Radcliffe calls this type of depression Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and concludes that it is caused by a disruption in the biological clock of especially female adults. According to Susan Silk, aging is also one of the factors that influence depression among adults and this is factor related to demographics. Indeed, the demographical factor was also be identified from the results of the National Survey on Drug Use and Health which showed that, western US states seem to, on average, have a higher depression rate among people than the eastern states do. Whether aging is indeed a cause of depression is one issue that is still unresolved. This is because there are studies which show that depression is not age related as it affects people of all ages. But recent studies which show that depressed is more prevalent among the elderly than in younger people support aging as a cause of depression in adults. A genetic link has also been found where, as a New York Times article shows, relatives of patients with depression are 2 – 6 times more likely to be depressed than individuals without a family history. This suggests that depression could be hereditary and therefore those that come from the families of people who are always depressed are likely to be depressed in life especially as adults. This could explain why some of the people experience depression but cannot say why they are depressed probably because they inherited the same from the genealogy. As research keeps focusing on the causes of depression, more and more factors will be identified and scientifically proven. Such will help in correctly diagnosing and treating or preventing cases of depression in the world as depression becomes more increasingly a world concern. With the knowledge on what causes depression, doctors will improve their knowledge and be better equipped to deal with cases of depression. This is a topic that I am interested in pursuing just to examine what factors might explain depression in adults. Doing this will be valuable to my career as a doctor and as well as to humanity in finding out the unexplained causes of depression among adults. Works Cited A.D.A.M. Medical Encyclopedia. “Major Depression”. 8 Mar. 2013. PubMed Health. Web. 12 Nov. 2013. Luppino, Floriana S, et al. “Overweight, Obesity, and Depression: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Longitudinal Studies.” Archives of General Psychiatry (2010): 220 - 229. Martin, Judy. ”When Work Stress Yields Depression It's Unbearable”. 30 May 2013. The Forbes. Web. 14 Nov. 2013. Miller, Carol A. Nursing for Wellness in Older Adults. Philadephia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2012. Print. National Institute of Health. “Depression: causes and risk factors”. Jul. 2013. National Institute of Health. Web. 14 Nov. 2013. Newson, Louise. “The basics - Depression.” 23 Apr. 2009. GP Magazine. Web. 13 Nov. 2013. Radcliffe, Shawn. “Weight Gain: The Heavy Downside of Sleep Deprivation.” 2 Jul. 2013. The Health Journal. Web. 14 Nov. 2013. Silk, Susan. “Aging and Depression”. 2013. American Phycology Association. Web. 12 Nov. 2013. The New York Times. “Depression”. 26 Mar. 2013. The New York Times. Web. 13 Nov. 2013. Annotated Bibliography A.D.A.M. Medical Encyclopedia. “Major Depression”. 8 Mar. 2013. PubMed Health. Web. 12 Nov. 2013. The article explains that alcohol or drug abuse causes depression. The article further notes that men who are depressed are more likely than women to mask symptoms with alcohol and therefore exacerbating the depression. Other factors include stressful life events such as death or illness of someone close, divorce, childhood abuse or neglect, loneliness, and relationship break-ups. The article also argues that depression could be as a result of some medical conditions such as underactive thyroid, cancer, or long-term pain. Some medicines such as steroids or sleeping problems could also cause depression in adults as argued in the article. This article is authentic as it has been published by the US National Library of Medicine and can be helpful in my thesis. British Broadcasting Corporation. “What is depression”. 19 Apr. 2013. The British Broadcasting Corporation. Web. 12 Nov. 2013. This article noted that what causes depression was still not very clear but it was a combination of several factors such as major life events (bereavement, redundancy, and marital breakdown). The article also points that unhelpful thinking patterns and some medical conditions are also causes of depression in adults. A biological link was also brought out in the article where the role of brain cells in depression was noted as still being poorly understood but plausible cause through imbalances in the brain. The fact that this article was published by the BBC shows that it is an authentic source which can be said to be reliable and therefore can be included in my thesis. Luppino, Floriana S, et al. “Overweight, Obesity, and Depression: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Longitudinal Studies.” Archives of General Psychiatry (2010): 220 - 229. This study sought to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis on the relationship between depression, overweight and obesity. Using longitudinal studies published in PubMed, PsycINFO, and EMBASE databases, the study found and concluded that obesity increased the risk of depression. This is a meta-analysis which means that several scholarly studies were systematically reviewed and therefore the findings are conclusive and reliable. The fact that this paper was a research study conducted by scholars makes it the best paper to include in a literature review should I wish to continue researching on the causes of depression among adults. The results are clearly given in a language that is understandable and the discussion adequately done. Martin, Judy. ”When Work Stress Yields Depression It's Unbearable”. 30 May 2013. The Forbes. Web. 14 Nov. 2013. The Forbes article on depression and suggests that work stress may be a major cause of depression at work places. Added stressors at work might contribute to depression where firms are demanding more productivity while support staff is shrinking. Other stressors include burnout, feeling of being unfairly treated or properly compensated, lack of control of outcomes and a feeling of being unappreciated. Since employees fear getting fired when they complain about some issues in their workplace, they keep silent hence exacerbating the underlying depression. This is a magazine article and not a research study. This makes it unfit to be included in a literature review of the causes of depression among adults but can be used to build the thesis statement of the study. Miller, Carol A. Nursing for Wellness in Older Adults. Philadephia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2012. Print. There are a number of risk factors that cause or contribute to depression in older adults namely the demographic factors and psychosocial influences, medical conditions and functional impairments, and effects of medications and alcohol. The author notes that these factors increase the risk of depression in older adults than in other age groups. It is also noted that other than these factors, cognitive impairments and dementia also contribute to depression. The author discusses each of these factors in detail in the book providing relevant examples and quoting studies that support the claims. Given the level of discussion, the author comes out as a reliable authority on this topic of depression. The book lists a number of contributors to the chapters in the book who range from instructors to professors to practitioners with vast experience and knowledge on the subject matter. The book was also reviewed by several experts in the medical field rendering it a worthy reference material not only as a nursing reference book but also for references on depression. National Institute of Health. “Depression: causes and risk factors”. Jul. 2013. National Institute of Health. Web. 14 Nov. 2013. The National Institute of Health also reveals that the causes of depression are not yet known but a number of factors come into play. Changes in the brain is one of the factors which the article identifies as one of the causes of depression by reporting that studies using imaging technologies have shown that brains of people suffering from depression are different from those of people without depression. The article also cites other causes such as family history, life experiences, and environment. The article further shows that as a person ages, the changes in the brain and body may cause depression. Illnesses such as heart disease or stroke in older people may also cause depression. Diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease or Parkinson’s disease may also be the reason for depression in older people as explained in the article. The article provides a vivid description of how several factors affect depression among adults and therefore is one of the articles that can be used in a scholarly literature review in a study of a similar kind. Newson, Louise. “The basics - Depression.” 23 Apr. 2009. GP Magazine. Web. 13 Nov. 2013. This article by Newson in GP Magazine noted that the cause of depression is unknown. The author notes that depression was caused by an interaction of both internal and external stresses, genetic factors and biochemical changes in the brain. The factors identified in the article mirror those of the other authors on what causes depression. This makes the article reliable. The magazine is a health related magazine which covers various topics on clinical practice including depression. Although the article does not explain deeply how these factors contribute to depression in adults, it is an article that elucidates on a number of causes of depression in adults. Radcliffe, Shawn. “Weight Gain: The Heavy Downside of Sleep Deprivation.” 2 Jul. 2013. The Health Journal. Web. 14 Nov. 2013. According to this article by Radcliffe in The Health Journals magazine, a certain type of depression that occurs at the same time every year (called Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD) occurs in adults, especially women, but the causes are a mystery. However, the author provides some of the possible causes as being biological clock disruption, drop in serotonin levels, and melatonin imbalance. These factors mirror some of the factors in other books and scholarly journals on the causes of depression and therefore can be said to be reliable. The magazine in which this article appears is also one that is dedicated to health issues and is one of the top health magazines in the world. The magazine is therefore a reliable source of information on depression. Silk, Susan. “Aging and Depression”. 2013. American Phycology Association. Web. 12 Nov. 2013. According to Silk, chronic depression is one of the outcomes of aging. The report shows that some natural body changes which are normally associated with aging can increase the risk of depression. This may explain why Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report showed that depression was most prevalent in persons aged 45 – 64 years. The American Psychology Association (APA) is a respectable body in the world and given that the article was compiled by Silk on behalf of the association, it is an article that can be trusted as an authoritative source. The author also has a PhD and this adds to her credibility as a reliable source of the causes of depression. The New York Times. “Depression”. 26 Mar. 2013. The New York Times. Web. 13 Nov. 2013. An article by The New York Times on depression also shows that alcohol, medical conditions and treatments (certain types of cancer, long term paid, sleeping problems, steroids, hypothyroidism), and stressful life events (abuse or neglect, break-ups, cancer, death of a relative or friend, divorce, failing class, illness in the family, job loss, long-term paid, and social isolation) may cause depression in adults. This is consistent with many other articles on depression. The article can be said to be authentic given that it is published by one of the leading newspapers in the world and therefore the article can be regarded as being reliable. The article points to the fact that the causes of depression are not fully known but could be a combination of genetic, biologic, and environmental factors. The article notes that studies have found a genetic link to depression close relatives of patients with depression are 2 – 6 times more likely to be depressed than individuals without a family history. The biological link stems from the fact that depression is linked to abnormalities in the delivery of key neurotransmitters especially serotonin, others such as acetylcholine and catecholamine, and reproductive hormones. Environmental factors are basically medications. This article is a reliable one as it is authored by one of the leading newspapers in the world and also reviewed by medical practitioners and researchers for the newspaper. Read More