The percentage of depressed adults in L.A. County is increasing annually. According to the L.A. County Department of Public Health, 16.6% of county women had been diagnosed at least once with a depressive disorder in 2007. According to two new studies, depressed women in their reproductive years have high rates of chronic disease factors, which may affect their overall health as well as future pregnancies. Furthermore, although the prevalence of smoking and physical activity has improved for these women from 2001 to 2009, the prevalence of obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol, asthma, and high blood pressure has increased.

Two studies, which analyzed data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System were published in the November issue of Preventing Chronic Disease. The authors noted that if researchers can identify the reason behind the improvements in smoking and physical activity, public health officials may be able to target interventions to reduce trends and help prevent chronic disease and adverse reproductive outcomes among these women. These targeted interventions may include dietary advice, exercise, blood glucose monitoring, and the use of antidepressants.

In one article, Sherry L. Farr, MSPH, PhD, and colleagues from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), reported: “Almost 13% of U.S. women of reproductive age concurrently experienced both depression and at least one additional chronic disease condition or risk factor.” They also noted that a woman’s healthcare provider should consider assessing her mental health in addition to her physical health, especially when resources are available for accurate diagnosis and follow-up. Currently depressed women and those with a past diagnosis of depression had a higher prevalence of diabetes, smoking, binge or heavy drinking, obesity, and physical inactivity when compared with women with no depression. The odds of three or more chronic conditions or risk factors were elevated among women with major, minor, and past diagnosis of depression

In the other article, Donald K. Hayes, MD, MPH, and colleagues from the CDC noted that the promotion of healthy lifestyle choices may prevent or delay the development of disease, improve reproductive health outcomes, decrease the development of and burden of chronic disease, and improve health throughout the lifespan in this cohort of women. They analyzed data on 327,917 women between age 18 and 44 years of age and found that, from 2001 to 2009, the prevalence of smoking declined from 25.9% to 18.8%, while physical inactivity declined from 25.0% to 23.0%. However, obesity increased from 18.3% to 24.7% and heavy drinking (defined as more than one drink daily) was unchanged during that period.

(www.examiner.com/ 2011)