Achieving and sustaining remission in depression and anxiety disorders: introduction.

M ajor depressive disorder (MDD) is a prevalent medical condition that is frequently associated with comorbid psychiatric and medical conditions and has a high risk for morbidity and mortality (1). Approximately 8% of adults will experience MDD at some time in their lives, and the 1-year prevalence rate is 4.1% to 4.6% in Canada (2). Anxiety disorders affect an estimated 12% of Canadians at some point during their lifetime (2), and community lifetime prevalence rates range from 2.6% to 13.3% depending on the disorder (3). Anxiety disorders are highly comorbid, occurring in about 58% of patients with MDD (4). In addition, anxiety symptoms are highly prevalent in MDD, occurring in up to 80% of patients (5).