IMH Launches Study on Depression to Try and Prevent It or Stop Its Progress

The Institute of Mental Health (IMH) has initiated a five-year study to look at the causes of depression among adults in Singapore, with the aim of finding ways to prevent it or halt its trajectory.

- Joyce Teo

The study will track around 3,200 Singapore residents, aged between 18 and 75, as they go about their lives to see how symptoms of depression and the severity evolve over time. It will include 1,229 individuals who have been diagnosed with depression, and a control group of the same number who do not have the condition.

Another 743 participants will have subsyndromal depression – a milder form of depression that does not meet the criteria for major depressive disorder (MDD). This milder form often goes undiagnosed and untreated, which increases the risk of it progressing to full-blown depression.

This is the first nationwide longitudinal study to track the development and trajectory of MDD – commonly known as depression among the local population.

Associate Professor Mythily Subramaniam, the assistant chairman of IMH’s medical board (research) and the study’s lead investigator, said on May 20 that researchers will study how diverse life events and factors influence the development and progression of depression. These include risk and protective factors such as age, gender, self-esteem, resilience, emotional regulation and lifestyles, as well as social factors such as one’s relationship with family and friends.

“This in turn can help us identify population subgroups who could be more vulnerable to developing depression, giving us an opportunity to intervene early,” Prof Mythily said in a media statement.