A briefing, hosted by the Healthcare Leadership Council and sponsored by Takeda Pharmaceuticals USA Inc.-Lundbeck LLC and New York-Presbyterian Hospital, recently examined the costs associated with depression and the impact cognitive disorders pose to patients’ ability to function.
The briefing featured presentations from several leaders in cognitive health, including HLC President Mary Grealy; Alice Medalia, from the Columbia University Medical Center; Greg Mattingly, from the Washington University School of Medicine; and Kim Hauge, from Kent State University.
Grealy addressed the hidden costs of depression, showing how the disorder costs the country more than $200 billion a year due to reduced productivity.
Medalia and Mattingly focused on how cognitive disorders impact sufferers’ lives. Medalia’s talk discussed how those with cognitive impairment are likely to underperform in school, work, personal relationships and their own medical management, and argued that these factors are not due to diagnostic symptoms of depression. Mattingly, on the other hand, discussed how depression can impact brain function, producing excessive emotions while also diminishing neural activity.
Hauge looked at treatment, discussing Kent State’s holistic employee wellness program, which saw the university work to reach employees with depression. The successful program both reduced health care costs and yielded positive results.
