European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 25, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Depression no longer a women s disease1 not by Jane e. Brody the new York times depression has Long been considered primarily a woman s disease. The rate for women being treated and in Community surveys in fact is two to six times As High As for men. Now it looks As if men could be starting to catch up. Economic and social pressures and a greater willingness by men and doctors to recognize and discuss emotional problems May eventually whittle away the statistical difference. Still according to a recent analysis involving More than 23,000 patients and 500 medical practitioners Many More mistakes Are made in recognizing depression in men than in women. The study published in the journal psychological assessment Lound that clinicians outside the mental health Field using standardized tests failed to recognize symptoms of depression in two thirds of the men As against half the women who were found to be suffering from it. Furthermore the clinicians in the study were More Likely to diagnose depression in women when in fact they were not suffering from it according to the test results. Historically it has bean considered Quot unmanly Quot to admit to suffering from emotional problems. Rather than seek medical help for depression or even acknowledge that they May have such a problem Many men have traditionally handled their feelings by drinking Loo much alcohol taking mood altering drugs being Cranky and irritable or falsely cheerful abusing their wives or children becoming workaholics or exercise addicts or with Little or no warning committing suicide. On top of this Many doctors have been reluctant to delve into the emotions with their male patients or even to ask Quot embarrassing Quot questions that might reveal alcohol or drug abuse. Another obstacle to detecting depression in men is that men Are Only half As Likely As women to visit a doctor women on the other hand see doctors far More regularly. Facing less social stigma about emotional problems women generally feel More comfortable than men in talking about their bad feelings and Are More inclined to confront them rather than to try to drown them in pills and alcohol. Doctors too have been less reluctant to quiz female patients about their emotional health and More Likely to conclude that women with certain hallmark symptoms Are in fact depressed. To be sure even when diagnostic errors Are taken into account depression is still considered to be a More common affliction among women. Or. Myrna m. Weissman professor of epidemiology in psychiatry at Columbia University and her husband or. Gerald l. Klerman professor of psychiatry at Cornell University medical Center have Analysed scores of studies in the United states and Many other countries. They find that while depression affects Young boys and Oft a told   me teen for tag Tofa Imd Teai �mrddrordru0rw�ffn6t a appetite com or Nom a. Or gain or Zoddo More thaw Paf Oditt of Bopf a a insomnia  much More than Haupl. A fat gating or Alt Teton or a a Ramaly slow Moo Amanta or speech. A fatigue or lots of Energy. Are dearly signs of depression but when patients of not mention a we or them the a  e a me Hwd Jee Wetor rip favorite not Mdse.  i Mew Sydiy Daemons a fee current thoughts of suicide str death. Girls with equal frequency after puberty girls and women Are about twice As susceptible. The distribution is probably related in part to hormonal factors for example premenstrual and postpartum depression Are common and Well recognized but it May also reflect social pressures that affect men and women differently. For example Klerman said while the women a movement May have succeeded in raising social awareness about the need for men to participate More in household chores and child rearing in most households women with outside jobs still do the lion s share. Quot there has been a distinct Rise in depression among Young women and a main reason for it is that the promises to women have not been fulfilled Quot Klerman said. For both men and women Weissman said feeling powerful and in control is a potent antidote to depression. Quot maybe different things make men and women feel powerful and in control though that is Likely to be less so As women s and men s roles become More similar Quot she said. Rates of depression have been increasing worldwide in both men and women born after world War ii. If indeed there has been a disproportionate increase in depression among men Klerman suggested socioeconomic factors As a prominent cause. Many men can no longer reinforce their social dominance by holding Quot Macho jobs. Instead More men today hold unisex jobs and Are forced to compete with women. In the last few years extensive layoffs and forced retirements have compounded the problem. A disproportionate number of men Are out of work suffering from lost status and battered self esteem on top of often severe economic pressures a perfect formula for  action Lineu Sarteur apologizes for baggage delay we would like someone to explain How a family s household goods can get lost Here in Europe. It took Over seven weeks for our unaccompanied baggage to arrive at our quarters once it reached the continent. Why a we understand that because our shipment came from the Philippines there might have been some confusion As to the final destination but we were looking for this shipment since our arrival in late july. Flad my husband not been so persistent we Don t think the shipment would have been found As soon As it was. My husband had to make the initial phone Calls to Clark a and the Oakland assistance team to get the Ball rolling from that end every shipment moved by military traffic management come has some Type of paperwork that identifies the recipient. Why Send the baggage from Rotterdam the Netherlands to Mannheim and then Back to Kalmar which is directly Between the two locations we looked on a map and the Only direct route via autobahn from Rotterdam to Mannheim is near our location. The barges also travel Down the Rhine River which is also close. Jane r. Roark Kalmar Germany a , Mitchell office of the Deputy chief of staff logistics he. Usa eur replies the delay you and your family experienced should t have happened. Although the evacuation of families and their personal property from the Philippines went quite smoothly some personal property shipments were mis routed or arrived without adequate transportation documentation. Unfortunately your unaccompanied baggage arrived in october without accompanying documentation identifying the proper destination. Your property was erroneously delivered to the contractor s facility in Mannheim adding additional delay. The unaccompanied baggage was delivered on dec. 12. Thanks to your letter we have identified a deficiency in the consignment procedures publication used by All transportation offices worldwide. We be instructed the 54th area support group transportation officer to initiate a correction to this publication to ensure Correct consignment of Kalmar destined  write us readers action line is the readers Quot court of last resort Quot striving to answer some of the questions about life overseas in a military environment or questions about policies and guidelines when other avenues for answers Are not readily available. If you have a question and done to know where to turn for the answer write to readers action line co the stars and stripes unit 29480, Apo a 09211. All letters must be signed and preference will be Given to those seeking information of general interest to our readers. Page 18 a the stars and stripes tuesday february 25, 1992