What Percent Of The Population Has Depression

Depression Among Older Adults

According to the 2017 survey, approximately 1.4 million Americans age 65 and older experienced a major depressive episode. In 2016, the figure was 1.3 million. Some factors explaining the increase in depression among older adults include:

• The death of a loved one
• Lifestyle changes due to retirement
• Becoming physically ill
• Anticipating death

Women And Bipolar Disorder

• Women and people with bipolar II disorder are significantly more likely to experience periods of rapid cycling than men with the same condition. . Depression, anxiety and perceived stress in women with and without PCOS: A community-based study. Psychological Medicine, 49)
• Other research findings indicate that women with bipolar disorder may have more depressive episodes and more mixed episodes than do men with the illness.

Depression: How Effective Are Antidepressants

Like psychotherapy, antidepressants are a key part of treating . They aim to relieve symptoms and prevent depression from coming back.

Opinions vary on how effective antidepressants are in relieving the symptoms of . Some people doubt that they work well, while others consider them to be essential. But, like with many other treatments, these medications may help in some situations and not in others. They are effective in moderate, severe and chronic depression, but probably not in mild cases. They can also have side effects. It is important to discuss the pros and cons of antidepressants with your doctor.

The main aim of treatment with antidepressants is to relieve the symptoms of severe , such as feeling very down and exhausted, and prevent them from coming back. They are meant to make you feel emotionally stable again and help you to follow a normal daily routine. They are also taken to relieve symptoms such as restlessness, anxiety and sleep problems, and to prevent suicidal thoughts.

This information is about using medication to treat the most common form of , known as unipolar depression. The treatment options for manic depression aren’t discussed here.

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What Should You Consider When Deciding Whether Or Not To Take Antidepressants

Whether antidepressants are an option will depend on things like the severity of the symptoms. Other aspects can also play a role in the decision:

• Are you going to psychotherapy or are you planning to?
• Have you taken antidepressants before and did they help?
• How bad do you think the potential side effects are compared to the possible benefits?

The question of side effects can also be key when choosing which drug to take: Some people might be more keen to avoid digestion problems. Others might prefer to avoid dizziness, decreased sex drive or erection problems.

It only makes sense to use antidepressants if the is correct. Specialists believe that some people are prescribed antidepressants unnecessarily. The fact that a lot more people take antidepressants nowadays suggests that this is true. They are sometimes already prescribed for milder symptoms, even though it’s not clear whether they help in mild .

But it’s still important to make sure that severe is diagnosed and treated properly. Antidepressants can be helpful here, and for some people may be the only way that they can get back into a daily routine or start going to psychotherapy.

Deaths From Mental Health And Substance Use Disorders

The direct death toll from mental health and substance use disorders is typically low. In this entry, the only direct death estimates result from eating disorders, which occur through malnutrition and related health complications. Direct deaths can also result from alcohol and substance use disorders these are covered in our entry on Substance Use.

However, mental health disorders are also attributed to significant number of indirect deaths through suicide and self-harm. Suicide deaths are strongly linked although not always attributed to mental health disorders. We discuss the evidence of this link between mental health and suicide in detail later in this entry.

In high-income countries, meta-analyses suggest that up to 90 percent of suicide deaths result from underlying mental and substance use disorders. However, in middle to lower-income countries there is evidence that this figure is notably lower. A study by Ferrari et al. attempted to determine the share disease burden from suicide which could be attributed to mental health or substance use disorders.1

As a result, direct attribution of suicide deaths to mental health disorders is difficult. Nonetheless, its estimated that a large share of suicide deaths link back to mental health. Studies suggest that for an individual with depression the risk of suicide is around 20 times higher than an individual without.

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What Are The Symptoms Of Depression

Each person is different and will have unique symptoms, but here are some of the more common symptoms of depression:

• Depressed mood
• Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, helplessness or hopelessness
• Loss of interest or pleasure in usually-enjoyed activities
• Change in weight or appetite
• Sleep disturbances

Highly Developed Countries Have Higher Rates Of Mental Disorders

Greenland, Iran, Australia, the US, and New Zealand make the top five. In contrast, countries such as Turkey, Belgium, and Norway are very dedicated to solving the issue with a high number of specialists.

Depression statistics report good conditions for patients in Belgium and Turkey which have over 100 mental health nurses per 100,000 people, for example. Japan leads the way with mental health beds .

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Depression Among Veterans And Non

A team from the VA Palo Alto Health Care System and Stanford University School of Medicine examined data on 7,000 men age 50 or older in a study published in 2014, and found that Veterans were no more likely than non-Veterans to have depression or anxiety.

Because Veterans, especially those who served in combat, have generally experienced more stress and trauma in their lives than non-Veterans, the team had expected to see higher rates of depression among Veterans. Instead, they found just the opposite. Older Veterans actually scored better than non-Veterans in the same age group.

The team found 11 percent of Veterans reported elevated rates of depression, compared with 12.8 percent of non-Veterans. For anxiety, 9.9 percent of Veterans reported elevated levels, versus 12.3 percent for non-Veterans. These differences were not considered statistically significant.

Vietnam Veterans, however, were twice as likely to have elevated depression and anxiety than World War II or Korean War Veterans in the study. The team suggested further studies are needed to determine why this was true.

Rates In Children And Adolescents

Depression can begin during childhood or during the teenage years. Similar to the prevalence rates in adults, girls are more likely to experience depression than boys. Theres a sharp increase in depression in girls just after puberty.

Although there has been a rise in teenage depression, according to a 2016 American Academy of Pediatrics study, there has not been a corresponding increase in treatment for teenagers.

The American Academy of Pediatrics now recommends regular depression screening for all adolescents 12 and over, given that the symptoms of depression are often missed by adults such as parents, teachers, and even doctors.

Here are the most recent depression statistics in children and adolescents:

• 3.1 million young people between the ages of 12 and 17 have experienced at least one major depressive episode in the past year in the United States.
• 2% to 3% of children ages 6 to 12 may have serious depression.
• 20% of adolescent girls have experienced a major depressive episode.
• 6.8% of adolescent boys have experienced a major depressive episode.
• 71% of adolescents who experienced a major depressive episode in the past year experienced a severe impairment.
• 60% of children and adolescents with depression are not getting any type of treatment.
• 19% of children with depression saw a health care professional for treatment.

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What Does The Treatment Involve

Antidepressants are usually taken daily. The goal in the first few weeks and months is to relieve the symptoms and, where possible, make the go away. Once that has been achieved, the treatment is continued for at least four to nine months. This continuation therapy is necessary to stop the symptoms from coming back. The medication is sometimes taken for longer to prevent relapses. The duration of treatment also depends on how the symptoms continue to develop over time and whether the depression is likely to return. Some people take antidepressants over many years.

It’s important to have regular appointments with your doctor when taking antidepressants. There you can talk about whether the symptoms have improved and whether there are any side effects. The dose will be adjusted if necessary. By no means should you reduce the dose or stop taking the medication on your own. That can make the tablets less effective, or they may cause more side effects.

Towards the end of the treatment, the dose is gradually reduced over the course of several weeks. You may experience temporary sleep problems, nausea or restlessness when coming off antidepressants. These symptoms are especially likely if you suddenly stop taking antidepressants. Sometimes people stop taking their medication as soon as they start feeling better, but that increases the risk of the coming back. Unlike many sleeping pills and sedatives, antidepressants don’t cause physical dependence or addiction.

Who Is Affected By Bipolar Disorder

• Bipolar disorder affects approximately 5.7 million adult Americans, or about 2.6% of the U.S. population age 18 and older every year.
• The median age of onset for bipolar disorder is 25 years , although the illness can start in early childhood or as late as the 40s and 50s.
• An equal number of men and women develop bipolar illness and it is found in all ages, races, ethnic groups and social classes.
• More than two-thirds of people with bipolar disorder have at least one close relative with the illness or with unipolar major depression, indicating that the disease has a heritable component.

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Iraq And Afghanistan Veterans And Depression

Many Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans have developed mental and behavioral conditions as a result of their combat experiences or other war-zone stressors. A 2015 study by researchers at VA’s Translational Research Center for TBI and Stress Disorders at the VA Boston Healthcare System identified three such conditions that cause the greatest level of difficulty in Veterans when they occur together.

The three conditions are depression, PTSD, and traumatic brain injury . Patients with those conditions, which the researchers call the “deployment trauma factor,” have higher disability scores than those with any other three-diagnosis combination.

The disabilities measured include difficulty in getting around, communicating and getting along with others, self-care, and other daily tasks. Other common problems that appeared to predict disability included anxiety conditions other than PTSD, pain along with sleep difficulty, and substance abuse or dependence.

Top 10 Depression Statistics For 2021

• Major depressive disorder is the most frequently diagnosed depression type.
• The majority of people suffering from depression do not receive the right treatment.
• 1.9 million children are struggling with depression.
• Cannabis can reduce anxiety and depression symptoms.
• Both adoptive and biological parents can suffer from PPD.
• Antidepressants may increase suicide risk in teens.
• Men with depression are more likely to die by suicide than women.
• Anyone can become ill with depression.
• 50% of all mental disorders start by the age of 14.
• Young peoples suicide rates have escalated by 56%.

Try not to get depressed as you scroll down, but if you do, weve also got some recommendations on how to fight it.

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Older Adult Attitudes Toward Depression:

According to a Mental Health America survey on attitudes and beliefs about clinical depression:

• Approximately 68% of adults aged 65 and over know little or almost nothing about depression.
• Only 38% of adults aged 65 and over believe that depression is a health problem.
• If suffering from depression, older adults are more likely than any other group to handle it themselves. Only 42% would seek help from a health professional.
• Signs of depression are mentioned more frequently by people under age 64 than people aged 65 and over. These include a change in eating habits , a change in sleeping habits and sadness .
• About 58% of people aged 65 and older believe that it is normal for people to get depressed as they grow older.

Statistics Related To Mental Health Disorders

The following are the latest statistics available from the National Institute of Mental Health Disorders, part of the National Institutes of Health:

• Mental health disorders account for several of the top causes of disability in established market economies, such as the U.S., worldwide, and include: major depression , manic depression , schizophrenia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

• An estimated 26% of Americans ages 18 and older — about 1 in 4 adults — suffers from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year.

• Many people suffer from more than one mental disorder at a given time. In particular, depressive illnesses tend to co-occur with substance abuse and anxiety disorders.

• Approximately 9.5% of American adults ages 18 and over, will suffer from a depressive illness each year.

• Women are nearly twice as likely to suffer from major depression than men. However, men and women are equally likely to develop bipolar disorder.
• While major depression can develop at any age, the average age at onset is the mid-20s.
• With bipolar disorder, which affects approximately 2.6% of Americans age 18 and older in a given year — the average age at onset for a first manic episode is during the early 20s.

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Fact: Depression Often Occurs With Other Health Conditions

It is not uncommon for someone with clinical depression to have another mental health condition or a physical health condition, or both. In some cases, an illness may trigger depression, while in others depression can lead to complications and other mental and physical health problems. Any kind of serious, severe, chronic, or terminal illness can lead a patient to develop depression. Some of the more common illnesses that trigger depression are cancer and any condition that causes chronic pain or disability, such as fibromyalgia or multiple sclerosis.

Commonly co-occurring mental health conditions include anxiety disorders, body dysmorphic disorder, eating disorders, and substance use disorders. It is not always possible to determine whether depression causes another condition, but it is possible, especially when depression goes untreated. For instance, depression can lead to substance use disorders, because some people use substances to self-medicate. With some health conditions, co-occurring depression affects many people:

• One quarter of cancer patients develops depression.
• One third of heart attack survivors will struggle with depression.
• Half of patients with Parkinsonâs disease experiences depression.
• Fifty to 75 percent of eating disorder patients will have episodes of depression.
• More than one quarter of people with substance use disorders experience depression.

How Effectively Do Antidepressants Relieve The Symptoms

There are a lot of different medications for treating . But it’s difficult to predict how well a particular medication will help an individual. So doctors often first suggest taking a drug that they consider to be effective and relatively well tolerated. If it doesn’t help as much as expected, it’s possible to switch to a different medication. Sometimes a number of different drugs have to be tried before you find one that works.

Studies show that the benefit generally depends on the severity of the : The more severe the depression, the greater the benefits will be. In other words, antidepressants are effective against chronic, moderate and severe depression. They don’t help in mild depression.

The various antidepressants have been compared in many studies. Overall, the commonly used tricyclic antidepressants were found to be equally effective. Studies involving adults with moderate or severe have shown the following:

• Without antidepressants: About 20 to 40 out of 100 people who took a placebo noticed an improvement in their symptoms within six to eight weeks.
• With antidepressants: About 40 to 60 out of 100 people who took an antidepressant noticed an improvement in their symptoms within six to eight weeks.

In other words, antidepressants improved symptoms in about an extra 20 out of 100 people.

Antidepressants can also relieve long-term symptoms of chronic depressive disorder and chronic , and help make them go away completely.

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Women Twice As Likely As Men To Be Depressed

February 19, 2018, 01:35 pm A National Center for Health Statistics Data Brief issued Feb. 13 shows that more than 8 percent of adults older than 20 reported having depression during a given two-week period. Of that total, the prevalence of depression among women was almost double that seen in men.

The brief, which used 2013-16 data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, also found that about 80 percent of adults with depression reported at least some problems performing daily tasks.

Specifically, about 50 percent of adults with depression reported some degree of difficulty with work, home or social activities because of their depression symptoms, and 30 percent reported moderate or extreme difficulty.

Furthermore, the NCHS brief found that

• the percentage of men with depression who reported difficulty with work, home or social activities because of their symptoms was similar to that for women
• the prevalence of depression was significantly lower among non-Hispanic Asian adults , compared with Hispanic , non-Hispanic black or non-Hispanic white adults
• depression prevalence did not differ by age and
• the prevalence of depression decreased as family income levels increased.

From 2007-08 to 2015-16, the percentage of American adults with depression did not change significantly. Among men, the prevalence was 5.7 percent in 2007-08 and 5.4 percent in 2015-16. Among women, the prevalence was 10.4 percent in 2007-08 and 9.3 percent in 2015-16.

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