Dr Francina Fonseca is Deputy Director of the Addiction Care Process. Institute of Neuropsychiatry and Addictions - Mar Institute of Medical Research, Mar Health Park. Barcelona. Lecturer in the Department of Psychiatry and Legal Medicine. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.
In her speech, she presented the compendium of her studies related to dual depression, both basic and applied. She commented that in epidemiological terms, dual depression (substance use disorder and depression) is considered to be present in both disorders entail more relative risk, has a higher prevalence, has a worse prognosis. In addition to that, there is an increase in associated problems. There are riskier behaviours: risky sex, needle sharing, more violence. Therefore, there is greater sensitivity in diagnosis and treatment.
Alcohol and cocaine use is higher than other drugs. One may think that depression is produced with consumption, that it is these substances of abuse that induce depression, but this is not the case, as it has been observed that the prevalence is higher in primary depression. It also appears with other drugs such as heroin and methadone and has not been observed with MDMA.
There are gender differences in the presence of dual depression, with a higher number of women.
The percentage is high in both genders, but the presence of psychiatric disorders associated with drug use is higher in women, who are also more likely to suffer violence.
Their work focuses on discriminating between primary and induced depression, as the patient’s clinical manifestations are different, affecting the evolution of the immune system. In their studies, they have highlighted the role of cytokines and chemokines. The presence of high levels of cytokines worsens this disorder. They have also studied the role of stress, which promotes pro-inflammatory cytokines. They have also evaluated the role of endocannabinoids and have noted the importance of quinolinic acid for its role in tryptophan metabolism.
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