Citation:
Sweetland, A. C., Jaramillo, E., Wainberg, M. L., Chowdhary, N., Oquendo, M. A., Medina-Marino, A., & Dua, T. (2018). Tuberculosis: An opportunity to integrate mental health services in primary care in low-resource settings. The Lancet Psychiatry, 5(12), 952–954. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(18)30347-X

Summary

Published September 2018.

Depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide. Tuberculosis is the leading cause of death by a single infectious agent. The prevalence of depression could be as high as 50% among individuals with tuberculosis because of biological, social, and behavioural factors. Depression is associated with delays in tuberculosis diagnosis and treatment, poor treatment outcomes, disability, poor quality of life, treatment failure, and death. Depression therefore poses a substantial risk for attaining the WHO End TB Strategy goals, and mental health generally is not being adequately addressed in national tuberculosis programmes. Furthermore, tuberculosis and other infectious diseases, including HIV, might be key drivers of premature death in people with severe mental illnesses (ie, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and severe depression), with a four-times to eight-times increased risk of death compared with the general population. Tackling mental disorders in people with tuberculosis, and vice versa, could strengthen the impact of tuberculosis and mental health programmes. Tuberculosis services are increasingly being embedded within primary care; integrating tuberculosis and mental health treatment could reduce costs, increase the quality of care and life of patients, and ultimately save lives.

Geographies
Global

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