Depression

Why study depression?

Major depression affects approximately 3,000,000 Canadians annually and is the leading cause of time lost from work, more than cancer or heart disease. Depression is a risk factor for suicide, which in responsible for more than 4,500 deaths each year in Canada. The cost to the economy is estimated at over $30 billion annually.

Depression can affect anyone, regardless of their age, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. To treat depression better, we need to understand the person and their environment better.

CAN-BIND: The Canadian Biomarker Integration Network in Depression

The Canadian Biomarker Integration Network in Depression (CAN-BIND) is a national program of research and learning. The CAN-BIND community includes persons with lived experience, caregivers, researchers, healthcare providers, government agencies, industry partners, and mental health advocates who are working together to achieve mental wellness for all Canadians. CAN-BIND is discovering ways to identify the right treatment for the right person in order to help individuals with depression get well quickly and stay well.

CAN-BIND’s mission is to deliver fast and effective care to all Canadians living with depression. To do this, CAN-BIND is pioneering new approaches to the care of patients with major depressive disorder by identifying and validating biomarkers that will lead to better treatment selection and better outcomes.

Learn how you might become involved in a CAN-BIND study.
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CAN-BIND: The Canadian Biomarker Integration Network in Depression

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Researchers Explore Novel Treatment Options For Depression

There are many factors like family history, genetics and life experiences, such as childhood trauma or the current pandemic, that can lead to depression. There is also no single type of depression. Every individual is unique, and it affects everyone differently. With depression being the leading cause of time away from work and a major risk factor for suicide, it is critical to get individuals matched with effective treatments faster, yet the variability of depression makes this hard to do. As such, we need to develop new ways to treat individuals who don’t respond to traditional depression treatments. And CAN-BIND - OBI's depression research program - is doing just that.

The CHOICE–D Patient And Family Guide To Depression Treatment

The CHOICE-D Guide aims to help individuals understand the evidence-based treatments that are available for managing depression. The guide includes information about medications, psychological treatments, brain stimulation treatments and complementary & alternative treatments.

This resource was created in partnership with people with lived experience of depression. All information was adapted from the CANMAT 2016 Clinical Guidelines for the Management of Adults with Major Depressive Disorder, which were published in the Journal of Psychiatry in 2016.

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The Impact of Our Work

Researchers Explore Novel Treatment Options For Depression

There are many factors like family history, genetics and life experiences, such as childhood trauma or the current pandemic, that can lead to depression. There is also no single type of depression. Every individual is unique, and it affects everyone differently. With depression being the leading cause of time away from work and a major risk factor for suicide, it is critical to get individuals matched with effective treatments faster, yet the variability of depression makes this hard to do. As such, we need to develop new ways to treat individuals who don’t respond to traditional depression treatments. And CAN-BIND - OBI's depression research program - is doing just that.