Eight Fast Facts of Women and Depression

The Depression
The facts provided by National Mental Information Center

1.One in four women will experience severe depression at some point in life.

2.Depression affects twice as many women as men, regardless of racial and ethnic background or income.

2.Depression is the number one cause of disability in women.

3.In general, married women experience more depression than single women do, and depression is common among young mothers who stay at home full-time with small children.

4.Women who are victims of sexual and physical abuse are at much greater risk for depression.

5.At least 90 percent of all cases of eating disorders occur in women, and there is a strong relationship between eating disorders and depression.

6.Depression can put women at risk for suicide. While more men than women die from suicide, women attempt suicide about twice as often as men do.

7.Only about one-fifth of all women who suffer from depression seek treatment.

8.Depression can - and should - be treated.
Eight Fast Facts of Women and Depression

Depression study

Depression study
Market studies on women, men and depression estimate that over 100,000 Americans each year are treated with electro convulsive therapy (ECT) for their depression. Roughly 15% of all people with severe depression that require hospitalization commit suicide.
Disorders related to men and depressions are also very expensive. Depression is ranked as the second leading cause of disability worldwide in 1990. Depression costs in the U.S. alone are estimated to exceed $50 billion annually, including over $12 billion in direct treatment costs. The total market in the U.S. for anti-depressants is estimated to exceed $6 billion.

Several general factors may be linked to women, men and depression but the exact causes of depressive disorders are unknown, although both biological abnormalities and psychological factors are thought to precipitate this disease. Diminished synaptic concentrations of neurotransmitters, especially serotonin and norepinephrine, are implicated in the pathogenesis of depression. Most current standard therapies regarding men and depression are thought to affect either one or both of these neurotransmitter systems (1) SSRI drugs (serotonin-specific reuptake inhibitors) or (2) MAOI drugs (monoamine oxidase inhibitors) that decrease the breakdown of norepinephrine and serotonin. It is of interest to note that several antiepileptic compounds, such as carbamazepine, valproate and lamotrigine, are used as mood stabilizers and that lamotrigine and gabapentin are also used as antidepressants.
Depression study