Major Depressive Episodes Are Way More Common Than We Knew

Major Depressive Episodes Are Way More Common Than We Knew(Credit: Emilie Cotterill/Flickr)

The number of adults in the United States who suffer from major depressive episodes at some point in their life is far higher than previously believed, according to a new study.

National survey data currently shows that approximately 17% of women and 10% of men report having a history of major depressive episodes (MDEs) in their lifetimes. But these data are subject to “recall error,” or the tendency of people to forget or misreport their health histories when taking a survey.

Researchers led by Jamie Tam, an assistant professor in the health policy and management department at the Yale University School of Public Health, created a simulation model to generate corrected estimates of lifetime depression.

They found that the proportion of US adults who have had MDEs is actually closer to 30% of women and 17% of men after factoring in recall error.


 Get The Latest By Email

Weekly Magazine Daily Inspiration

“Major depressive episodes are far more common than we thought,” says Tam. “Our model shows that the probability of someone having a first major depressive episode is especially high during adolescence. We also know from other research that having a first major depressive episode increases the likelihood you’ll have a second one. This means that anything we can do to prevent or treat episodes among young people could lead to larger health benefits over the course of their life.”

A major depressive episode is defined as a period of two weeks or longer in which a person experiences feelings of intense sadness and hopelessness, fatigue, weight gain or weight loss, changes in sleeping habits, loss of interest in activities, and thoughts of suicide or attempts at suicide. These persistent symptoms cannot be easily changed, even if they are contradictory to a person’s circumstances. Depressive episodes typically recur periodically in people diagnosed with major depression.

The study shows that mental health programs that screen for, prevent, and treat depression could benefit a much larger segment of the population than previously thought, Tam says.

“If you think about chronic health conditions like heart disease, we do a lot to identify people who might be at risk for additional health events like heart attacks because that group would benefit from maintenance treatment and clinical monitoring,” Tam says.

“We don’t do such a great job when it comes to mental health conditions. So, if we’re able to assess how many people actually have histories of depression, that also tells us that more people are at risk of experiencing more depressive episodes.”

The researchers also found that older adults are especially likely to under-report their history of having depressive symptoms. Among adults 65 years and older, underreporting for depression was as high as 70%. Older adults often experience what is referred to as “minor depression,” where they still report significant depressive symptoms but don’t always meet clinical requirements for major depression.

Tam says there may be a tendency for older adults to downplay negative experiences of depression from when they were younger, classifying them as “growing pains” rather than major depression.

“Unfortunately, many people with depression or with histories of depression don’t access, or don’t have access to, treatment or support,” Tam says.

“There’s a broader problem in our society of mental health not receiving the same attention and investment of resources compared to physical health conditions.”

The findings appear in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Additional coauthors are from the University of Michigan.

Original Study

books_health

More By This Author

AVAILABLE LANGUAGES

English Afrikaans Arabic Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Traditional) Danish Dutch Filipino Finnish French German Greek Hebrew Hindi Hungarian Indonesian Italian Japanese Korean Malay Norwegian Persian Polish Portuguese Romanian Russian Spanish Swahili Swedish Thai Turkish Ukrainian Urdu Vietnamese

follow InnerSelf on

facebook icontwitter iconyoutube iconinstagram iconpintrest iconrss icon

 Get The Latest By Email

Weekly Magazine Daily Inspiration

Friday, 14 May 2021 08:30

Fertility has declined in most industrialised countries. While the causes are largely unknown, a number of factors may contribute to declining fertility rates, including the age...

Tuesday, 25 July 2023 16:09

Volunteering in late life may be more than just a noble act of giving back to the community; it could be a critical factor in safeguarding the brain against cognitive decline and dementia.

Monday, 24 July 2023 19:42

Today, mountains of calorie-rich (and often nutritionally poor) food and lakes of sugary beverages are readily available in much of the world. It’s no longer necessary to leave home — or even stand...

Tuesday, 04 May 2021 08:32

Cognitive motor training helps in the fight against Alzheimer’s and dementia, according to new research.

Thursday, 15 April 2021 13:22

Skin brushing is a highly effective technique for cleansing the lymphatic system. Topics covered in this article: Benefits of Skin Brushing; What type of skin brush is the best to use; How to Brush...

Thursday, 27 May 2021 05:24

Life, by its very nature is … alive! Because it is alive, it is not just responding in a set, mechanical way, but rather it is responsive to what is needed and helpful and useful. Cells might...

New Attitudes - New Possibilities

InnerSelf.comClimateImpactNews.com | InnerPower.net
MightyNatural.com | WholisticPolitics.com | InnerSelf Market
Copyright ©1985 - 2021 InnerSelf Publications. All Rights Reserved.