Depression awareness is essential in bid to cut suicides

EVERYONE needs to recognise depression in a bid to reduce the suicide rate, a medical expert said yesterday.

Unfortunately, depression, particularly in men, could be masked by other behavioural disorders, according to Dr Wolfgang Rutz, who is Europe adviser of the World Health Organisation's Mental Health Programme.

Dr Rutz, who addressed a major Dublin conference on suicide organised by the Irish College of General Practitioners, is also the lead author of the famous Gotland study conducted on the Swedish island that showed how suicide could be reduced by educating general practitioners on depression and how to treat it.