Depression affects more than 1 in 20 Americans
15 years, 7 months ago
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Posted on Sep 05, 2008, 7 a.m.
By Rich Hurd
New statistics revealed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that more than 1 in 20 Americans aged 12 and over are suffering from depression.
New statistics revealed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that more than 1 in 20 Americans aged 12 and over are suffering from depression.
Those hit hardest are women, baby boomers aged 40 to 59, non-Hispanic black people, and people on lower incomes. Of those affected in the study, 80% reported some level of functional impairment, while nearly one-third said that their symptoms caused serious difficulties both at work and in their personal life.
Even though the symptoms of depression were having an impact on the day-to-day life of many of the study participants, just 29% of participants with depression and 39% of participants with severe depression said that they had contacted a mental health professional in within the past year. Experts believe that the stigma that is still attached to mental illness may be at least partially to blame for people failing to seek medical help.
NCHS Data Brief: Depression in the United States Household Population, 2005-2006, September, 2008.
