Depression: disease or symptom?

Endometriosis is costing women, and Australia, an estimated total of $9.7 billion per year in medical bills and lost productivity, according to new research.
This equates to an average cost of $30,000 per sufferer per year, both personally and to society.

Around 20–40% of this cost sits directly within the health sector:
– Medications
– Doctor visits
– Assisted reproductive technology (e.g. IVF)
– Transport costs to attend appointments

The remaining 60–80% is due to lost productivity, either from absenteeism or presenteeism—being physically present but unable to perform due to severe pain and discomfort.

Reducing pain caused by endometriosis by just 20% could save Australia billions.

This condition affects more than 830,000 women—over 10% of Australia’s female population.

Symptoms vary widely, contributing to the condition being overlooked or misdiagnosed for 7–12 years, with 1 in 5 doctors missing the diagnosis.
At least 50% of patients experience fertility issues.

Given the scale, one would expect significantly more research, education, awareness, investment, and progress in this field.

Yet many men remain unaware of what endometriosis even is.

This is not necessarily the fault of men.
It is a failure of the system to provide adequate education and visibility.

Women are not being treated with the care, respect, or urgency this condition demands.

It’s time things changed.

Have you suffered challenges to your mental health?

Depression has the third highest burden of all diseases in Australia (13%) [1] and also third globally [2].

Almost half (45%) Australians will experience a mental illness in their lifetime [3].

One in five, about 20%, Australians aged 16-85 experience a mental illness in any year:

• 11.5% have one disorder and 8.5% have two or more disorders.
• 14% of Australians suffer from anxiety disorders.
• 6% depressive disorders [4].

The age with the highest prevalence of mental illness is between 18-24 years of age.

21.2% of adolescents between 15-19 years of age met the criteria for a probable serious mental illness [5].

Six Australians die from suicide every single day, with a further 30 people will attempt to take their own life [6].

Suicide is the leading cause of death for people Australians aged 25-44 and the second leading cause of death for young people aged 15-24 [7].

Australians are more likely to die by suicide than skin cancer.

Indigenous Australians experience double the rate of suicide when compared to non-indigenous Australians [8].

The LGBT community experiences four times the rate when compared with those identified as heterosexual [9].

In 2011, men accounted for 76% of deaths from suicide [10], yet an estimated 72% of males don’t seek help for mental disorders.

54% of sufferers with mental illness do not seek treatment [1], which is only compounded by the delay in treatment due to problems with detection, social stigma and accurate diagnosis.

Individuals with mental illness accessing treatment are half that of people seeking treatment with physical disorders [11].It’s time to raise awareness for mental health.

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References

1. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2014). Australia’s Health 2014. AIHW: Canberra.
2. World Health Organisation. (2008). The global burden of disease: 2004 update.
3. Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2009). National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing: Summary of Results, 4326.0, 2007. ABS: Canberra.
4. Kitchener, B.A. and Jorm, A.F. (2009). Youth Mental Health First Aid: A manual for adults assisting youth. ORYGEN Research Centre, Melbourne.
5. Ivancic, L., Perrens, B., Fildes, J., Perry, Y. and Christensen, H. (2014). Youth Mental Health Report, June 2014. Mission Australia and Black Dog Institute, Sydney.
6. The Australian Senate. (2010). The Hidden Toll: Suicide in Australia Report of the Senate Community Affairs References Committee. Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra.
7. http://www.aihw.gov.au/deaths/causes-of- death
8. Australian Bureau of Statistic. (2012). Australian Health Survey: First Results. ABS, Canberra.
9. National Mental Health Commission. (2013). A Contributing Life, the 2013 National Report Card on Mental Health and Suicide Prevention. NMHC, Sydney.
10. Department of Health and Ageing. (2013). National Mental Health Report 2013: tracking progress of mental health reform in Australia 1993 – 2011. Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra.
11. Commonwealth of Australia. (2010). National Mental Health Report 2010. Canberra, Australia.

The effectiveness of Vitamin B6 in the treatment of PMS dates back over 40 years. Results were noted, such as:

• ‘Significant decreases in all symptoms’ (1)
• 70% reporting good or partial response’ (2)
• ‘Improvement in 63% of patients on pyridoxine’ (3)

The dose used within these studies ranged from 40-200mg (with a possible risk of toxicity at 200mg).

Only one patient of the 940 participating in these trials indicated the presence of any side effects that could be attributed to the neuropathy associated with pyridoxine toxicity. (4)

A meta-analysis of nine published trials involving almost 1,000 women with PMS found that vitamin B6 is more effective in reducing PMS symptoms than placebo. (5)

A double-blind, randomized controlled trial in 94 women found that 80 mg pyridoxine taken daily over the course of three cycles was associated with statistically significant reductions in a broad range of PMS symptoms, including:

• Moodiness
• Irritability
• Forgetfulness
• Bloating
• Anxiety (6)

Below are my preferred dietary sources of Vitamin B6 per 100g:

• Liver – 1mg
• Salmon – 0.9mg
• Sunflower Seeds – 1.33mg
• Pistachios – 1.7mg

The recommended daily allowance sits around 1.3mg, which makes an easy target to obtain via food.

However, to achieve the dosage used in the above studies is between 30-153 times higher than the RDA, making it unachievable to obtain through diet alone.

As you can see here, Designs For Health provides 50mg of Vitamin B6 in just one capsule. This is in the form of Vitamin B6 in its most bioavailable form – P5P.

Magnesium and Vitamin B2 are required for the conversion of P5P. The deficiency rates of magnesium make this conversion much harder.

High protein diets or genetic susceptibilities (such as NBPF3) are factors that can increase the need for more Vitamin B6.

Have you ever used B6 for your PMS?

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References:

1. Goei and Abraham, 1983
2. Brush, 1988
3. Day, 1979
4. London RS, et al. 1991
5. Wyatt KM, et al. BMJ 1999
6. Kashanian M, et al. 2007