Chloroquine induced depression

Abstract

Certain drugs are known to induce depressive states; chloroquine - an antimalaria, in therapeutic doses administered for treatment of malaria, may produce symptoms rather indistinguishable from depression.

Depression is the commonest psychiatric illness seen by general practitioners; in fact, it is one of the commonest clinical problems that general practitioners have to deal with. Prevalence rates for depressions, based on standardized interview, vary considerably between studies (Casey et al, 1984, Robins et al, 1984) probably due to differences in research method rather than true inter practice variation. A number of studies suggest that about 5% of the consulting patients show major depression, another 5% milder episodes, and a further 10% depressive symptoms (Blacker and clase, 1987). Depression is so common that point prevalence rate varies between 13 and 20 percent of the population (Michael Gelder Dennis Gath, Richard Mayan and Philipcowen, 1996).

Commonly used drugs for depression include barbiturates, contraceptives, anti-hypertensive, digitalis, ethanol, steroids, phenytoin and analgesics agents (Jr., Ayd, J, Frank, 1995) and depression maybe due to chronic medical illness and other endocrine disorders. The present article describes two cases of depression related to the administration of chloroquine as antimalarial drug.