Functional medicine is a systems biology–based approach that focuses on identifying and addressing the root cause of disease. Each symptom or differential diagnosis may be one of many contributing to an individual’s illness.
As the graphic illustrates, a diagnosis can be the result of more than one cause. For example, depression can be caused by many different factors, including inflammation. Likewise, a cause such as inflammation may lead to a number of different diagnoses, including depression. The precise manifestation of each cause depends on the individual’s genes, environment, and lifestyle, and only treatments that address the right cause will have lasting benefits beyond symptom suppression.
Mental health disorders, including depression and anxiety, continue to be leading causes of health-related burdens worldwide.1 According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 5% of adults worldwide experience depression.2 While depression is most acutely seen in females and young adults (aged 18-34),3 the prevalence among children and adolescents has significantly increased in recent years.4
Depression is a multifactorial condition that may have several different antecedents and triggers unique to each individual; as such, a singular focus on antidepressant medication therapy may not be the optimal approach.
We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data.