Diagnosis of depression in adults

This is an automatically translated article.

The pressure of work and life makes many people susceptible to mental inhibition and emotional disturbances leading to depression. The degree of manifestation of the disease depends on each person's ability to withstand pressure.

1. Psychological examination

The first thing to do to diagnose adult depression is to see a psychiatrist. The patient will be fully assessed and focused on the following factors:
Symptoms, current manifestations Traumatic factors (strong psychological impact such as: illness, break up with lover) , family conflicts...) History of neurological episodes Reaction to previously used drugs Skills in the diagnosis and treatment of cognitive impairment in the elderly are extremely important. The population is aging, every year after the age of 70, the level of cognitive decline and depression doubles. It is necessary to bring the patient to the examination and diagnosis as soon as there are abnormal signs. Many people often do not want to be known for going to mental health care, so they often wait until their condition worsens to see a doctor, which makes it very difficult to treat the disease.

2. Does the patient have suicidal thoughts?

To diagnose the degree of depression, questions about suicidal thoughts, thoughts of boredom cannot be ignored. Clinical screening questions do not have the primary purpose of making an official diagnosis, but are meant to provide extremely important information to help determine the risk of suicide in patients.
Beck's depression questionnaire with the full name (Beck Depression Inventory-BDI-II) is commonly used today. This questionnaire is not specific for older adults, but contains items that contain the DSM-IV's diagnostic criteria for depression. If the results of the questionnaire are 15 points, the patient is assessed as mildly depressed, initially showing clinically important signs of depression.
The 15-question Short Assessment of Geriatric Depression Scale is built on the baseline screening measure of adult depression. If the result is 5 points, it is necessary to investigate and examine more closely. This scale not only serves to diagnose depression, but can also diagnose Alzheimer's disease.

3. Family history

Co-occurring depression or cognitive decline in older age in a family should be taken into account when making a diagnosis. Care should be taken when there is a family history of depression or any other mental illness. Based on the degree of impairment in cognitive behavioral functioning, the physician will try to obtain more information from family members, especially those with suspected mental impairment in families with only there are cognitive changes that first occur, which are still unknown.

4. The impact of social change

Many surveys and studies have shown that the results of daily living activities focus on changes in difficulties caused by cognitive decline and depression. Cognitive decline and depression are common in the elderly. These two diseases can lead to many emotional and cognitive effects in daily life.
Accurately assess functional activities to identify cognitive decline caused by Alzheimer's disease, which is the cause of loss of motivation and interest in life.
Status and circumstances of each patient are different. Doctors need to rely on these factors, cultural characteristics to diagnose diseases for patients, especially foreign doctors when diagnosing diseases for Vietnamese people.
For example, according to research in the world, 41% of patients in the early stages of depression will have insomnia and 44% have signs of anxiety disorder. However, most Vietnamese patients often go to the doctor because of prolonged insomnia and then gradually discover anxiety disorders and depression.

5. History of medical diseases

It is necessary to determine whether the patient's current signs are due to depression, cognitive decline or concomitant symptoms of medical conditions such as hypothyroidism, chronic pain conditions, etc.
In addition, medical conditions can also cause the condition to become worse.

6. Required tests

Tests are done to rule out medical conditions that present as depression or cognitive impairment. Includes:
Blood count test HIV test Vitamin B12 level test Folic acid test Thyroid hormone test... In which, thyroid hormone test is an extremely important test, should not be ignored. Identifying medical conditions also helps in diagnosing depression because these conditions also contribute to worsening depression.

7. Neuroimaging

When there are signs of decline in information processing ability, concentration ability, memory impairment, slowness... especially in the elderly, it is necessary to perform imaging diagnostics to clearly identify the condition. sick.
With manifestations of focal neurological damage or vascular risks, patients are often indicated for MRI and CT scan.
Most of the elderly patients who come to the psychiatrist are prescribed MRI before and have used several drugs but have not been effective or experienced some side effects of these drugs.
Psychology Clinic - Vinmec International General Hospital officially came into operation in April 2019, has the function of examining, consulting and outpatient treatment of psychological problems and psychological health. With modern equipment, Vinmec Mental Health Clinic is currently cooperating with experienced professors and experts:
MSc. Doctor Nguyen Van Phi - Psychologist, Vinmec Times City International Hospital: with 7 years of experience working as a lecturer in Psychiatry - Hanoi Medical University, Doctor Psychiatrist at Hanoi Medical University Hospital & Central Geriatric Hospital, and a member of the Vietnam Psychiatric Association. MSc. Dr. Pham Thanh Luan - Psychologist, Vinmec Times City International Hospital: with 5 years of experience in research, examination and treatment of Psychiatric diseases, trained at prestigious universities trust, practice in-depth expertise in the French Republic. MSc. Doctor Nguyen Trong Hien - Psychologist, Vinmec Times City International Hospital: with 6 years as a lecturer in the Department of Psychiatry - Hanoi Medical University and Central Geriatric Hospital, together with Dr. Experience in research, examination and treatment of diseases in Psychiatry such as: emotional disorders, stress-related disorders and body dysmorphic disorders, developmental disorders in children, adolescents & childbirth .... Along with the implementation of psychological tests, intensive psychotherapy for diagnosis and treatment, in order to bring the best medical examination and treatment effect.
Customers can go directly to Vinmec Times City to visit or contact hotline 0243 9743 556 for support.