The Modern Face of Depression: A Comprehensive Review

Abstract

Depression is one of most widespread disabling and one of most important global mental health problems among the main causes of disability, affecting more than 332 million people worldwide. The incidence has dramatically increased, especially among youths, who showed a clinically elevated symptom range, and who were in their environment stressed by the COVID-19 pandemic and consequently were around 25.2% more depressed. Depression is not just related to mental health, but also cardiovascular disease, immunological deficit and suicide – finally the biggest killer of the young adult population (15-29 years). In addition to the depression and apathy symptoms, numerous individuals with depression or apathy will have more irritability, numbness, brain fog, notification fatigue, and sleep difficulties due to tech-neglect, just to name a few. Mechanistically, it's now understood that depression involves dysfunction in multiple systems such as neuroinflammation (elevated blood markers of inflammation like C-reactive protein [CRP], interleukin [IL] 6, and tumor necrosis factor [TNF] α), dysfunction of the HPA-axis, dysfunction of the fronto-limbic circuit, and a disrupted circadian rhythm. Therefore, the informal workers face a more high risk of depression symptoms, 27% more likely than the formal workers in LMICs. With available effective treatments ranging from pharmaceutical, from psychosocial to neuromodulatory, over 75% of people who are affected in low to middle income countries do not receive treatment partly due to any combination of stigma, and lack of resources. Innovation in recent approaches, such as digital biomarkers, app-based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), ketamine-esketamine, closedloop neurostimulation, and others is making it apparent once again that novel methods for directly intervening with precision are being born. This paper draws together the latest global statistics, common symptom domains, possible origins, and emerging interventions for digital-age depression, aiming to promote a multidisciplinary approach that integrates psychology, behavioural factors, digital and biological treatments to combat the emerging and escalating worldwide burden of digital-age depression.