Depression and Anxiety : Prevalence, Risk Factors and Treatment

Depression has always been at the center stage of psychiatry, with many resources allocated to its study and treatment. Depression and Anxiety: Prevalence, Risk Factors and Treatment first reviews the emerging Integrative Evolutionary-Stress Response-Predictive Processing Framework Theory, which may offer useful insights for clinical practice. Sexual problems and dissatisfaction with sex are commonly associated with depression. More awareness and a better understanding of this condition can lead to effective treatment and enhancement of quality of life. Following this, the authors compare benzodiazepine use in patients with major depression and anxiety disorders to determine which demographic features are related to benzodiazepine use and constitute risk factors for benzodiazepine dependence. Literature suggests correlations between the abnormalities in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and anxiety disorders, especially in terms of cortisol levels. As such, this compilation systematically assesses the available research data in the last 10 years, shedding light on the association between psychoneuroimmunology and anxiety. The closing article uses pooled data from 1983-2008 to assess the psychophysiological measures of anxiety. Various databases were searched for articles in English using search words related to psychophysiological measures of anxiety, markers for anxiety, physiological changes anxiety, and monitors of emotional change. The implications of the findings will contribute to further research on improved management for anxiety disorders.