FACTS ABOUT DEPRESSION

General

• Depression is the leading cause of disability in the U.S. for ages 15 to 44.
• Depression affects more than 15 million American adults, or about 6.7 percent of the U.S. population age 18 and older in a given year.
• Only about half of Americans diagnosed with major depression in a given year receive treatment for it and one fifth receive treatment aligned with current practice guidelines.
• Up to 80% of those who receive treatment for depression show an improvement in symptoms, usually within four to six weeks, of beginning treatment.

Youth

• About 20% of young people will experience depression in their teen years and between 10% to 15% of teens will have symptoms of depression at any given time.
• About 30% of tends with depression develop problems with substance abuse.
• Depression in youth can lead to problems at school, running away, low self-esteem, eating disorders, self-injury or disinterest in career or educational opportunities.
• Three times more female adolescents developed depression than their male counterparts.
• About 8% of teens suffer with depression for at least a year at a time, compared to the roughly 5% of the general population.
• On average, 64% of youths with major depression don’t receive mental health treatment. This varies by state from 42% in New Hampshire to 77% in Arkansas.

Men

• The lifetime rate of depression is 8% in men and 12% in women, but the difference may be due to fewer men seeking help for depression.
• Men are more likely to seek treatment for the physical symptoms of depression, than the typical symptoms associated with the disorder.
• Men die by suicide 3.5x more often than women.
• Suicide is the leading cause of death for men under 35, although middle aged men have the highest risk of death by suicide.

Veterans

• Veterans have rate of suicide 50% higher than the rate among other civilians with similar demographic characteristics.
• About 50% of veterans who need mental health services seek it out, but only a little more than half of those veterans receive adequate care.
• In 2005, 22% of veterans sought mental health treatment through the private sector rather than from the VA.
• The Veterans Crisis Line (800-273-8255, Press 1), has had more than 2 million callers since it was established in 2007, with nearly a quarter of those calls — 490,000 — coming in last year.

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Data Source: mentalhealthscreening.org