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Women more prone to depression than men, Indians worst hit: WHO

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NEW DELHI: Women are highly prone to depression, a significant contributor to disease and even suicidal tendencies.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says the burden of depression is 50% higher for females than males.

The World Mental Health Report adds that depression is two to three times more common in women.

According to the WHO, Indians are among the world's most depressed.

A study conducted by the global watchdogs found that while around 9% of people in India reported having an extended period of depression within their lifetime, around 36% suffered from what is called major depressive episode (MDE).

MDE is characterized by sadness, loss of interest or pleasure, feelings of guilt or low self-worth, disturbed sleep or appetite, low energy and poor concentration besides feeling depressed.

The average age of depression in India is 31.9 years compared to 18.8 years in China and in the US (22.7 years).

By 2020, depression will be the second leading cause of world disability, and by 2030 it is expected to be the largest contributor to disease burden.

The World Psychiatric Association (WPA) says that one out of 10 people globally suffer from major depression and almost one out of five persons has suffered from this disorder during h/his lifetime (one-year prevalence is 10% and lifetime prevalence 17%).

India's hidden burden of depression could seriously spike the country's suicide figures.

A report by the WHO, Depression and Global Crisis, says almost one million lives are lost yearly due to suicide, which works out to 3,000 suicide deaths daily.

For every person, who completes a suicide, 20 or more may attempt to end h/his life. At present, depression is estimated to affect 350 million people.

Depressive disorders often start at a young age, and could often be a recurring symptom.

The WHO study, published in the BMC Medicine journal and based on interviews of more than 89,000 people in 18 countries by 20 different researchers, says depression affects nearly 121 million people worldwide, and is the second leading contributor to shorter lifespan for individuals in 15-44 age group.

The percentage of respondents, who had lifetime MDE was higher in high-income (28.1%) than in low to middle-income (19.8%) nations.

WHO ranks depression as the fourth leading cause of disability worldwide and projects that by 2020, it will be the second leading cause.

The recent World Health Assembly called on the member states to take action to curb depression.

Although there are known effective treatments for depression, access to treatment is a problem in most countries and in some countries fewer than 10% of those who need it receive such treatment.

Vikram Patel, professor of International Mental Health from the Centre for Global Mental Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine said, "This year's mental health day theme is depression which is a global crisis. With regards to suicide in particular, depression is perhaps the leading mental health related factor which is associated with the risk for suicide."

Depression is a more disabling condition for sufferers than angina, arthritis, asthma and diabetes, new research from the World Health Organization (WHO) shows. A Lancet study said, "People suffering from Depression keep on suffering and may prove fatal as it interfere with our day to day life, as one stop taking interest in work, studies, sleep and other activities."

Depression is a common mental disorder, characterized by sadness, loss of interest or pleasure, feelings of guilt or low self-worth, disturbed sleep or appetite, feelings of tiredness, and poor concentration. Depression can be long-lasting or recurrent, substantially impairing an individual's ability to function at work or school or cope with daily life.

At its most severe, depression can lead to suicide. When mild, people can be treated without medicines but when depression is moderate or severe they may need medication and professional talking treatments.

Experts say depression is a disorder that can be reliably diagnosed and treated by non-specialists as part of primary health care. Specialist care is needed for a small proportion of individuals with complicated depression or those who do not respond to first-line treatments.

Depression prevalence /MDE prevalence /Average age of onset of depression

India —9% / 36% / 31.9

France — 21% / 32.3% / 28.4

US — 19.2% / 30.9% / 22.7

China — 6.5% / 12% / 18.8

Germany — 9.9% / 23% / 27.6



Women more prone to depression than men, Indians worst hit: WHO - The Times of India
 
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Women may prone to depression more than men but it may be because women seek more help for depression and mental disease as comapre to men. Why men are more likely to commit sucide than women ? I guess because they dont seek help and dont express their negative feeelings as much as women do
 
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