Depressive illness and the possibilities of somatic antidepressant treatment.

Depression constitutes a considerable mental health problem. Depression is too often unrecognized or unproperly treated, which causes distress, social impairment, and increased risk of mortality for the individual, and large costs for society. However, several efficient treatment modalities and strategies exist. Different somatic antidepressant treatments for short- and long-term therapy and their respective quality-of-life and economic aspects will be presented and discussed.