Incidence and Prevalence of Depression
The incidence of major depression worldwide rose from 172 million in 1990 to 258 million in 2017, representing an increase of 49.86%.1 Around 21 million adults in the United States, more than 8% of the population, experienced at least one major depressive episode in 2020.2 Depression affects 1 in every 15 adults (6.7%) each year.3 Within their lifetime, 1 in 6 people (16.6%) will experience depression.3 While some individuals may only experience one major depressive episode in their life, most patients experience recurring depression.2
Depression can occur at any point in a person’s lifetime, but is most commonly first diagnosed in the late teens to mid-20s.3 Globally, individuals aged 50 to 69 are most likely to experience depression (5.82% prevalence); but in the United States, the prevalence of depression is greatest in individuals aged 20 to 24 (7.52% prevalence).4,5 Women are more likely than men to experience depression.3 Some data suggest that up to one-third of women will experience at least one major depressive episode during their lifetime.3 Depression is highly heritable, up to 40%, when a person has a first-degree relative with depression.3
Depression Disability and Mortality Burden
The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified depression as a leading cause of disability worldwide. This disability burden includes both psychosocial effects and workdays lost and is a major contributor to the global burden of disease.6
Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) are used as a tool to calculate disease burden, taking into account both mortality and years lived with disability or health burden. In 2019 in the United States, the DALYs for patients with depression were 774.97 per 100,000 persons.7
In 2010, there were more than 2.2 million deaths attributable to depression alone.8 The standardized mortality ratio for suicide in patients with depression is 20.9 in men and 27.0 in women.9 In addition, adolescents who experience depression are 30 times more likely to commit suicide.10
Depression is a clear global health disorder with a significant and growing impact on both patients as well as their communities. Timely identification and management by all providers can help improve the global burden as well as morbidity and mortality of the disease.
References:
1. Liu Q, He H, Yang J, Feng X, Zhao F, Lyu J. Changes in the global burden of depression from 1990 to 2017: findings from the Global Burden of Disease study. J Psychiatr Res. 2020;126:134-140. doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2019.08.002
2. Depression. National Alliance on Mental Health. Reviewed August 2017. Accessed December 6, 2022. https://www.nami.org/About-Mental-Illness/Mental-Health-Conditions/Depression
3. What is depression?. American Psychiatric Association. Updated October 2020. Accessed December 6, 2022. https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/depression/what-is-depression
4. Prevalence of depression by age, World, 2019. Our World in Data. Accessed December 6, 2022. https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/prevalence-of-depression-by-age
5. Prevalence of depression by age, United States, 2019. Our World in Data. Accessed December 6, 2022. https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/prevalence-of-depression-by-age?country=~USA
6. Depression. World Health Organization. Updated September 2021. Accessed December 6, 2022. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/depression
7. Depressive disorder DALYS, age-standardized rate, 1990 to 2019. Our World in Data. Accessed December 6, 2022. https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/dalys-depression-age-std-rate?tab=chart&country=~USA
8. Patel V, Chisholm D, Parikh R, et al. Addressing the burden of mental, neurological, and substance use disorders: key messages from Disease Control Priorities, 3rd edition. Lancet. 2016;387(10028):1672-1685 doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(15)00390-6
9. Ösby U, Brandt L, Correia N, Ekbom A, Sparén P. Excess mortality in bipolar and unipolar disorder in Sweden. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2001;58(9):844–850. doi:10.1001/archpsyc.58.9.844
10. Stringaris A. Editorial: What is depression?. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2017;58(12):1287-1289. doi:10.1111/jcpp.12844