Depression in general clinical practice--a diagnostic problem

The study was conducted on 100 patients suffering from depression with the aim to highlight the common manifestations of depression in people belonging to a developing country like India, and to apprise the general practitioners and medical specialists of various disciplines, of various manifestations of depression to help early detection and timely treatment of the problem. It was observed that depression had varied manifestations like depressed mood, anxiety, somatic features, insomnia, lack of interest, paranoid ideas, obsessions, etc. Although 100% of patients had depressed mood but only 22% actually complained of it. Most patients often selectively highlighted somatic manifestations and overtly suppressed the mood component, thereby posing a diagnostic problem to the physician.