University of Michigan Depression Center was nation’s first comprehensive depression center of its kind, University of Colorado Denver’s is second – and there are more to come
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The time has come to fight more effectively against depressive and bipolar illnesses by creating a national network of depression centers. Depression and bipolar illness affect at least one of every five Americans and are the leading causes of disability in the world.
Hundreds of studies explain why depressive illnesses are underdiagnosed and undertreated; why depression ranks second only to heart diseases as the most expensive contributor to our soaring health care costs; why depression costs have contributed disproportionately to our current automobile crisis; why suicide tragically extinguishes 30,000 lives each year and has become the third most frequent cause of death among teenagers; and why stigma remains a potent barrier for the 19 million Americans with these disorders.
The time has come to move from the "why" to solutions that work. The National Network of Depression Centers proposes to serve as a leader in providing proven approaches that will lead to improved quality, effectiveness, and availability of care for those suffering from depressive illnesses.
In the News
Our Great Depression
By Andrew Solomon
DEPRESSION is the leading cause of disability worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. It costs more in treatment and lost productivity than anything but heart disease. Suicide is the 11th most common cause of death in the United States, claiming 30,000 lives each year. -read more-
Depression centers needed
Let's copy strategy that cut cancer and heart disease deaths
by John F. Greden
The time has come to fight more effectively against depressive and bipolar illnesses by creating a national network of depression centers. The seeds of this movement have been planted in Ann Arbor. -read more-