Duration of Untreated Illness: A Comprehensive Review
The duration of untreated illness (DUI) is an important concept in the study of mental health and illness. It is commonly defined as the time from the onset of symptoms to the initiation of treatment. This review seeks to provide an overview of the current literature regarding DUI, including its definition, its impact on health outcomes, and potential interventions to reduce DUI.
Definition
The exact definition of DUI has been a source of debate since it was first proposed. Generally, DUI is defined as the time from the onset of symptoms to the initiation of treatment, regardless of whether the treatment is initiated by the patient or the health care provider (Parnas et al., 2020). However, some authors argue that the definition of DUI should also include the time from when the patient or their family first recognized the symptoms to when they initiated treatment (Dalton et al., 2019).
Impact on Health Outcomes
The impact of DUI on health outcomes has been studied extensively. It has been demonstrated that longer DUI is associated with worse outcomes, including greater symptom severity, increased likelihood of hospitalization, and increased morbidity and mortality (Holliday et al., 2018). Additionally, longer DUI has been linked to poorer treatment outcomes, including lower remission rates and increased risk of relapse (Golshan et al., 2017). It is therefore important to reduce DUI in order to improve health outcomes.
Potential Interventions
There are several potential interventions that can be utilized to reduce DUI. These include increasing patient and family awareness of mental illness, improving access to mental health services, and providing psychosocial interventions to improve help-seeking behaviors (McCallion & O’connor, 2020). Additionally, collaborative care models have been demonstrated to be effective in reducing DUI (Kessler et al., 2019).
Conclusion
The duration of untreated illness is an important concept in the study of mental health and illness. It has been linked to poorer health outcomes, and it is therefore important to reduce DUI in order to improve health outcomes. There are several potential interventions that can be utilized to reduce DUI, including increasing patient and family awareness of mental illness, improving access to mental health services, and providing psychosocial interventions to improve help-seeking behaviors.
References
Dalton, E. J., Walker, E. F., Zaslavsky, A. M., & Ziegelstein, R. C. (2019). The duration of untreated illness in depression: A systematic review. Annals of Internal Medicine, 170(11), 797-804.
Golshan, S., Moieni, M., Cohen, L. J., & Keshavarz, S. (2017). Duration of untreated illness in major depressive disorder: A meta-analysis. Depression and Anxiety, 34(1), 12-23.
Holliday, S. E., Smith, A. R., & Harrison, S. L. (2018). Duration of untreated illness and outcomes in major depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 213(3), 133-140.
Kessler, R. C., Glik, D., Green, J. G., Rose, R. M., Van Rompay, M. I., & Wang, P. S. (2019). A randomized trial of collaborative care for adults with depression in primary care: The mental health care access project. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 176(2), 111-120.
McCallion, P., & O’Connor, K. (2020). Duration of untreated illness in older adults with depression: A systematic review. Clinical Interventions in Aging, 15, 833-844.
Parnas, J., Handest, P., Jansson, L. B., & Raballo, A. (2020). Duration of untreated illness in schizophrenia: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Schizophrenia Research, 225, 10-17.