Women And Depression

Women and Depression

In any given year, 10 to 14 million people experience a clinical depression; women 18 to 45 years of age account for the largest proportion of this group. Clinical depression is a serious medical illness that is much more than temporarily feeling sad or blue. It involves disturbances in mood, concentration, sleep, activity level, interests, appetite, and social behavior. Clinical depression can develop in anyone, regardless of race, culture, social class, age, or gender. However, across virtually all cultures and socioeconomic classes, women are more likely than men are to experience depression. Although depression is highly treatable, it is frequently a life-long condition in which periods of wellness alternate with recurrences of illness. Sixty percent of depressed individuals will experience at least a second episode of depression. Of these individuals, 75% to 80% will experience recurrent depression. With each subsequent episode, recurrence risk increases and probability of full remission decreases.

Clinical depression affects two to three times as many women as men, both in the U.S. and in many societies around the world. It is estimated that one out of every eight women will suffer from clinical depression in her lifetime. Women also experience higher rates of seasonal affective disorder and dysthymia (chronic depression) than men. While the rate of bipolar disorder (manic depression) is similar in men and women, women have higher rates of the depressed phase of manic depression and women are three times more likely to experience rapid-cycling bipolar disorder.

Source: NAMI--The National Alliance on Mental Illness, copyright 2007; www.nami.org; 1-800-950-NAMI