Epidemiology of depression

Age-standardised disability-adjusted life year (DALY) rates of unipolar depressive disorders by country (per 100,000 inhabitants) in 2004.[1]

Depression is a major cause of morbidity worldwide.[2] Lifetime prevalence varies widely, from 3% in Japan to 17% in the US. In most countries the number of people who would suffer from depression during their lives falls within an 8–12% range.[3][4]

In North America the probability of having a major depressive episode within any year-long period is 3–5% for males and 8–10% for females.[5][6]

Demographic dynamics

Population studies have consistently shown major depression to be about twice as common in women as in men, although it is unclear why this is so, and whether factors unaccounted for are contributing to this.[7] The relative increase in occurrence is related to pubertal development rather than chronological age, reaches adult ratios between the ages of 15 and 18, and appears associated with psychosocial more than hormonal factors.[7]

People are most likely to suffer their first depressive episode between the ages of 30 and 40, and there is a second, smaller peak of incidence between ages 50 and 60.[8] The risk of major depression is increased with neurological conditions such as stroke, Parkinson's disease, or multiple sclerosis and during the first year after childbirth.[9]

It is also more common after cardiovascular illnesses, and is related more to a poor outcome than to a better one.[10][11] Studies conflict on the prevalence of depression in the elderly, but most data suggest there is a reduction in this age group.[12] Depressive disorders are most common to observe in urban than in rural population and the prevalence is in groups with stronger socioeconomic factors i.e. homelessness [13]

Data on the relative prevalence of major depression among different ethnic groups have reached no clear consensus. However, the only known study to have covered dysthymia specifically found it to be more common in African and Mexican Americans than in European Americans.[14]

By country

Age-standardised disability-adjusted life year (DALY) rates per 100,000 inhabitants[15]

Rank Country DALY rate
1  United States 1,454.74
2    Nepal 1,424.48
3  East Timor 1,404.10
4  Bangladesh 1,401.53
5  India 1,400.84
6  Pakistan 1,400.42
7  Brazil 1,396.10
8  Maldives 1,391.61
9  Bhutan 1,385.53
10  Afghanistan 1,385.14
11  Finland 1,344.13
12  Israel 1,273.92
13  Slovenia 1,248.47
14  Belgium 1,244.46
15  France 1,234.32
16  Chile 1,221.23
17  Guatemala 1,177.03
18  Haiti 1,170.73
19  Bolivia 1,161.56
20  Nicaragua 1,161.25
21  Canada 1,157.07
22  Ecuador 1,156.30
23  Peru 1,156.07
24  Croatia 1,141.79
25  Armenia 1,133.20
26  Azerbaijan 1,120.05
27   Switzerland 1,114.11
28  Turkmenistan 1,112.94
29  Tajikistan 1,112.45
30  Kyrgyzstan 1,112.10
31  Denmark 1,110.76
32  Uzbekistan 1,110.18
33  Luxembourg 1,110.00
34  Austria 1,108.30
35  El Salvador 1,103.93
36  Jamaica 1,100.10
37  Colombia 1,099.51
38  Bahamas 1,099.29
39  Honduras 1,098.66
40  Trinidad and Tobago 1,098.21
41  Grenada 1,098.14
42  Saint Lucia 1,097.85
43  Uruguay 1,095.86
44  Barbados 1,095.76
45  Dominica 1,094.66
46  Antigua and Barbuda 1,094.65
47  Saint Kitts and Nevis 1,094.64
48  Argentina 1,094.20
49  Dominican Republic 1,093.04
50  Suriname 1,091.56
51  Venezuela 1,088.72
52  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1,087.50
53  Cuba 1,087.25
54  Guyana 1,086.82
55  Panama 1,086.71
56  Belize 1,085.63
57  Paraguay 1,085.28
58  Costa Rica 1,083.23
59  Sweden 1,060.42
60  Georgia 1,056.60
61  Albania 1,047.94
62  Bosnia and Herzegovina 1,044.53
63  Poland 1,043.18
64  Slovakia 1,042.62

Rank Country DALY rate
65  Romania 1,041.97
66  Bulgaria 1,040.66
67  Serbia and Montenegro 1,039.45
68  Macedonia 1,037.76
69  Turkey 1,037.51
70  Norway 996.780
71  United Kingdom 960.624
72  Ireland 959.325
73  Monaco 959.222
74  Andorra 956.319
75  Iceland 955.986
76  Germany 955.011
77  Lebanon 939.728
78  Cyprus 936.667
79  Morocco 936.319
80  Czech Republic 934.095
81  Egypt 931.894
82  Iraq 931.842
83  Yemen 931.675
84  Tunisia 931.414
85  Syria 930.510
86  Iran 929.554
87  Indonesia 927.707
88  Thailand 925.765
89  Cambodia 923.746
90  Jordan 923.086
91  Laos 923.076
92  Sri Lanka 922.893
93  Philippines 921.373
94  Libya 919.740
95  Singapore 919.158
96  Malaysia 918.331
97  Burma 917.689
98  Brunei 912.718
99  Vietnam 911.415
100  Papua New Guinea 909.399
101  Tonga 909.227
102  Federated States of Micronesia 904.903
103  Fiji 903.122
104  Nauru 900.547
105  Marshall Islands 900.546
106  Palau 900.533
107  Kiribati 900.401
108  Solomon Islands 900.169
109  Niue 899.281
110  Tuvalu 899.004
111  Cook Islands 898.923
112  Vanuatu 898.831
113  Samoa 896.317
114  Saudi Arabia 895.616
115  Bahrain 892.281
116  Oman 888.392
117  Kuwait 877.069
118  North Korea 868.902
119  Mongolia 866.490
120  South Korea 863.421
121  San Marino 862.099
122  Netherlands 861.586
123  Kazakhstan 860.070
124  Ukraine 858.312
125  Estonia 857.445
126  China 857.314
127  Russia 856.718
128  Belarus 855.825

Rank Country DALY rate
129  Lithuania 855.363
130  Latvia 855.207
131  Moldova 855.040
132  New Zealand 851.065
133  Qatar 847.175
134  Hungary 847.062
135  Australia 846.943
136  U.A.E. 841.571
137  Mexico 784.702
138  Italy 776.376
139  Malta 763.792
140  Cape Verde 748.052
141  Mali 746.409
142  Lesotho 745.348
143  Angola 739.066
144  Burkina Faso 738.634
145  Sierra Leone 738.366
146  São Tomé and Príncipe 737.979
147  Guinea-Bissau 737.928
148  Equatorial Guinea 737.167
149  Chad 736.668
150  Togo 736.605
151  Nigeria 736.038
152  Senegal 735.975
153  Somalia 735.670
154  Swaziland 735.205
155  Madagascar 735.148
156  Liberia 734.677
157  Cameroon 734.635
158  Rwanda 734.221
159  Gambia 734.206
160  Benin 733.968
161  Mauritania 733.944
162  Comoros 733.904
163  Mozambique 733.777
164  Gabon 733.615
165  Djibouti 733.559
166  Guinea 732.777
167  Mauritius 732.672
168  Seychelles 732.305
169  Sudan 732.233
170  Algeria 731.743
171  Burundi 731.009
172  Niger 730.976
173  Ghana 730.842
174  Eritrea 730.154
175  C.A.R. 728.622
176  Namibia 726.357
177  Malawi 725.934
178  South Africa 725.772
179  D.R. of the Congo 725.756
180  Tanzania 724.539
181  Zimbabwe 724.516
182  Zambia 724.126
183  Botswana 723.997
184  Rep. of the Congo 723.945
185  Ethiopia 723.892
186  Kenya 723.667
187  Uganda 722.676
188  Portugal 721.798
189  Côte d'Ivoire 714.969
190  Greece 632.054
191  Spain 620.772
192  Japan 531.252

See also

References

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  7. 7.0 7.1 Gender differences in unipolar depression: An update of epidemiological findings and possible explanations. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica. 2003;108(3):163–74. doi:10.1034/j.1600-0447.2003.00204.x. PMID 12890270.
  8. Eaton WW, Anthony JC, Gallo J. Natural history of diagnostic interview schedule/DSM-IV major depression. The Baltimore Epidemiologic Catchment Area follow-up. Archives of General Psychiatry. 1997;54(11):993–99. doi:10.1001/archpsyc.1997.01830230023003. PMID 9366655.
  9. Rickards H. Depression in neurological disorders: Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, and stroke. Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry. 2005;76:i48–i52. doi:10.1136/jnnp.2004.060426. PMID 15718222. PMC 1765679.
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  14. Stephanie A. Riolo et al. (June 2005). "Prevalence of Depression by Race/Ethnicity: Findings From the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III". U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved January 18, 2014.
  15. World Health Organization (WHO). Age-standardized DALYs per 100,000 by cause, and Member State, 2004; 2004 [Retrieved 2011-03-31].