U.S. researchers have found that approximately 4.7 percent of the nation's population suffers from persistent depression or anxiety disorders, with a minority of those afflicted receiving adequate medication or counseling, according to a study available here on Thursday.

"From a policy perspective, this study indicates that we have to do much better in terms of helping people in the population and clinicians in primary care," said lead author Alexander Young from University of California, Los Angeles.

"We need to understand that psychiatric disorders are treatable with psychotherapy and/or medication. Patients would benefit if we improved linkages between primary care and specialty mental healthcare so that patients are referred and accept referrals to mental health specialists, especially when they are chronically ill," he said.

The study was published Thursday in the December issue of journal Psychiatric Services. It was based on data from Healthcare for Communities, a nationally representative household survey of adults in the United States. The researchers analyzed responses from 1,642 adults with major depression or anxiety disorders.

At follow-up, the researchers found that 59 percent of the individuals no longer met the criteria for having a psychiatric disorder. But to their surprise, they found that among those who remained ill, there were only modest increases in medication use and no statistically significant increase in the use of counseling for their disorders -- measures that are known to significantly improve outcomes, especially when used in combination.

"Persistent depressive and anxiety disorders are remarkably common in the U.S. population and are associated with substantial morbidity," the researchers concluded. "Increasing the rate of appropriate care from its current low level could result in substantial improvement in individuals' lives."

(Xinhua News Agency December 5, 2008)