[Depression as a systemic disease]

Depression has traditionally been considered as a mental illness, because basic biological methods previously failed to reveal any associated somatic changes. New more sensitive methods have, however, revealed many kinds of biological changes associated with depression. Scientific research has shown that the categorical division into mind and body is not justified. Instead, depression can be considered a systemic illness due to the manifold associated biological changes predisposing to somatic diseases and worsening their prognosis.