Pragmatic treatment options for depression and anxiety disorders are needed

Abstract

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a common disorder with a lifetime risk around 35%. It is a significant cause of mortality and the second leading cause of years lived with disability worldwide. At many levels, the similarities between MDD and the anxiety disorders are much stronger than the differences. For instance, these disorders share genetic, temperamental and environmental risk factors, frequently co-occur, and cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) and antidepressant drugs are recommended as principal treatments for both. It will therefore be very difficult to locate pathologies and treatments that are specific to subtypes of depression without considering their relationship with anxiety. As a result, we broaden our comment on Perlis’ proposal to reduce personalized (or non-evidence based) medicine in favor of precise (evidence-based) medicine to include both depression and anxiety.