In a recent study published in the American Journal of Preventive MedicineThe researchers explored trends in the prevalence of depression from 2015 to 2020.
The most prevalent mental illness in the US is major depression, which also carries the highest risk of suicidal behavior. Based on early reports from 2020 onwards, the 2019 coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic may have contributed to the country’s rising mental health problem, particularly among adolescents and youth. To eventually assess and effectively address the mental health effects of the pandemic, accurate national pre-pandemic estimates are essential.
About the study
In the current study, researchers calculated the annual prevalence of major depression in the previous 12 months among Americans aged 12 years and older between 2015 and 2020.
The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) provided the data for the study. The NSDUH provides annual national cross-sectional data on substance use and mental health in the US. Data sets from each year between 2015 and 2019 were combined. sample weights from the person-level analysis and then modified to ensure consistency with population estimates received from the US Census Bureau. The original weight was divided by the total number of data sets to obtain a new weight.
Based on the criteria of the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, fourth edition (DSM-IV), questions were addressed to measure major depressive episodes (MDE) for adults and adolescents aged between 12 and 17 years. For respondents older than 18 years, the depression modules were adapted from the National Survey of Comorbidity-Replication, while those for respondents between the ages of 12 and 17 years were adapted from the National Survey of Comorbidity-Adolescent.
Based on reporting five or more of the nine MDE symptoms, including depressed mood, loss of interest or pleasure in daily activities over a two-week period, both adults and adolescents were classified as having a MDE forever. Those who met the requirements for a lifetime MDE and reported feeling depressed or lost interest in daily activities along with other symptoms for at least two weeks during the previous 12 months were classified as MDE in the past year. The adolescent and adult factors were combined to form the last year MDE variable for this investigation.
Two questions were used to measure help-seeking behavior for depression in the past year. In addition to being asked if they had received prescription medication for their MDE symptoms in the previous 12 months, respondents were also asked if they had recently seen or talked to a physician (MD) or other professional about their symptoms.
Results
After controlling for sociodemographic factors, the prevalence of recent depression increased from 7.3% in 2015 to 8.6% in 2019, and this monotonous increase from 2015 to 2019 persisted. In 2020, 9.2% of people had depression in the previous year.
When stratifying the population according to age, the highest prevalence of depression throughout the study period was found among adolescents aged 12 to 17 years and young adults aged 18 to 25 years. The prevalence of depression increased from 12.7% in 2015 to 15.8% in 2019 and 16.9% in 2020 among adolescents. In addition, the number of patients with depression increased from 10.3% in 2015 to 15.5% in 2019 and 17.2% in 2020 in adults aged 18 to 25 years. Additionally, depression was recorded at 7.5% in 2015, 10.9% in 2019, and 9.9% in 2020 for adults ages 26-34. The prevalence of depression was consistently higher for women than for men. Depression increased from 4.7% in 2015 to 6.3% in 2019 and 6.4% in 2020. In addition, 9.7% in 2015, 10.8% in 2018 and 11.8% in 2020 of women reported depression.
When stratified by marital status, people who were not currently or previously married were more likely to experience depression. For people who had never been married, there was an increase in cases of depression between 2015 and 2019 in unadjusted models. In the adjusted or unadjusted models, married people, as well as those who were widowed, divorced, or separated, did not experience an increase in depression. Regarding income, those with a lower family income had a higher frequency of depression, while those with a higher family income had a lower prevalence of depression.
When accounting for education, those with some college education had a higher frequency of depression than all other education subgroups. In people who had completed high school, had some college education, or had a graduate degree, the prevalence of depression increased from 2015 to 2019. In both adjusted and unadjusted studies, the frequency of depression among people without a high school graduation secondary did not change between 2015 and 2019.
Overall, the study findings showed a definite increase in both treated and, more importantly, untreated depression. The researchers believe it is essential to expand evidence-based initiatives that support early intervention, prevention, and education about depression.
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