Depression in the South African workplace.

Depression is a common psychiatric disorder and can be costly, having a significant impact on the individual and employers. The South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG) in partnership with HEXOR, with the support of Lundbeck, undertook research into depression in the workplace, because South African information is not available on this topic. It provides insight into the prevalence of depression within the workplace in South Africa, as well as the impact of depression on the employees and employers in terms of sick leave and levels of productivity, especially when the symptoms include cognitive impairment. It is apparent that stigma plays a pivotal role in the reasons for non-disclosure to employers. It further highlights the magnitude of awareness, early detection and the provision of a holistic support system within the work environment, free from bias, to ensure that optimum benefit can be achieved for both employer and employee.

The intercontinental schizophrenia outpatient health outcomes (ic-soho) study: baseline clinical and functional characteristics and antipsychotic use patterns in the central and eastern europe (cee) region.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the baseline findings of the Intercontinental Schizophrenia Outpatient Health Outcomes (IC-SOHO) study in the Central and Eastern European sub-region (CEE-SOHO). METHOD: The IC-SOHO study is an ongoing prospective, three-year, non-interventional observational study of schizophrenia treatment, clinical characteristics and mental health services utilization in eight Central and Eastern European countries. The study population consists of non-hospitalized patients who had initiated treatment with or changed to a new antipsychotic. RESULTS: The baseline findings of the IC-SOHO study (CEE-SOHO Subset) appear to reflect clinical practice in Russia, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Romania and Lithuania (N=2,247). Overall, the patients were moderately to markedly ill and either overweight or obese (61.1%) when they entered the study. Functionally, the majority of patients was not involved in a relationship, could not care for themselves and was unemployed. Substance and alcohol dependency/abuse was not a problem in this study population. At baseline, half of the patients were treated with the newer atypical antipsychotics; and anxiolytics/hypnotics were the most commonly prescribed concomitant medication. Sexual side effects were most frequently reported among the surveyed adverse events. Overall patient compliance/ adherence to medication was good. CONCLUSION: The baseline IC-SOHO data highlighted various clinical and functional characteristics and antipsychotic use patterns in a group of outpatients with schizophrenia in a naturalistic setting. Once completed, the IC-SOHO study will add further to this knowledge base.