Psychiatrists in demand during stressful times

There are only 210 qualified specialists in a city of 7 million

Many Hong Kong people experience tremendous stress and tension for a variety of reasons, including financial stress, unemployment and family problems, and these can trigger a sudden emotional disturbance, resulting in social tragedies that feature regularly in the news.

A recent report by the Hong Kong Mood Disorders Centre at the Chinese University of Hong Kong showed that as many as one in eight Hong Kong adults may be suffering from major depression. But there are only about 210 specialised psychiatrists in a city with a population close to 7 million.

'The two most common mood disorders among my patients and territory wide are anxiety disorder and depressive disorder,' said Richard Fung Wai-choy, a psychiatrist in private practice in Central.

'Bipolar mood disorders have high biological elements, so prevalence is quite steady. Unipolar depressive disorders are more multi-factorial; they have more precipitating causes such as social and economic,' Dr Fung said.

Lee Sing, director of the Hong Kong Mood Disorders Centre, has done a lot of work in depression studies and in large scale public education for Hong Kong people over the past 10 years. Dr Lee said bipolar depression was more serious and impairing than unipolar depression. Sufferers of bipolar depression had higher risk of alcohol and drug abuse, and suicide compared with those suffering from unipolar depression.