It can take doctors months to diagnose severe clinical depressionBut the discovery could speed up diagnosis time and quicken treatmentScientists have identified nine chemicals in the blood related to depression The pioneering test checks whether levels of three of them have increased
A blood test for depression has been developed by scientists.
They hope it will drastically speed up the diagnosis time for the condition and lead to quicker treatment.
Around one in five Britons experiences depression at some point during their lives, with between eight and 12 per cent experiencing at least one bout a year.
But a handful suffer from clinical depression which can last for weeks or years and severely affect their daily life.
At present, clinical depression can take several months to diagnose as doctors try to decide whether the patient has the condition or whether they are simply experiencing natural feelings of sadness caused by an event or tragedy.
But scientists from Northwestern University in Chicago say they have identified nine chemicals in the blood which are raised during depression.
They have devised a blood test which measures three of these chemicals to diagnose depression.
The researchers measured chemical levels in the blood of 32 patients with severe depression and compared them to 32 non-depressed individuals.
In a study published in the journal Translational Psychiatry, lead researcher Eva Redei wrote: ‘Abundance of nine transcripts (chemicals) differed significantly between subjects with major depressive disorders and non-depressed controls, suggesting this could be diagnostic in the clinical population.’
Many of us suffer from mild depression from time to time, which can be a spell of being down for a few days.
At its most severe, however, it can last for years with sufferers feeling that life is not worth living but with no obvious cause.
Research has also found that it may be genetic with people more likely to get depression if there is a family history.
Last year, researchers from the World Health Organisation said depression is the biggest cause of disability worldwide after back pain, but was often overlooked by doctors, with only a fraction of patients being offered treatment.
And only last week, the chief medical officer Professor Dame Sally Davies called for workers with depression to be fast-tracked for treatment ahead of the old and unemployed.
She said the working days lost when men and women are off sick with mental health issues cost the economy £100billion a year.
Around 70 million working days are lost because of depression, anxiety and other mental health conditions in England each year, a rise of a quarter since 2009.
Walking to work reduces stress and improves brain power, researchers say.
Adults who swapped the car and started walking or cycling became calmer and found it easier to concentrate.
A study of 18,000 Britons also found that commuting by train or bus improved well-being compared with driving.
Lead researcher Adam Martin, from the University of East Anglia’s Norwich Medical School, said that despite the crowds and disruption, walking to bus stops or stations and being able to relax on the journey ‘cheers people up’.
Two-thirds drive to work, 18 per cent use public transport, 11 per cent walk and three per cent cycle.
The study, published in the journal Preventive Medicine, also found the longer people spent walking or cycling, the happier or less stressed they were. But stress levels and inability to concentrate worsened if they spent more time in the car.
