According to a recent Gallup survey, clinical depression rates in America have risen noticeably, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the social isolation and job losses it spawned.
In the survey, Gallup asked respondents, "Has a doctor or nurse ever told you that you have depression?" and "Do you currently have or are you currently being treated for depression?"
The percentage of Americans currently being treated for depression has increased to 17.8%, up about seven points since 2015. The percentage of U.S. adults who report having been diagnosed with depression at some point in their lifetime has reached 29%, nearly 10 percentage points higher than in 2015.
More women (36.7%) in the survey than men (20.4%) report having been diagnosed with depression at some point in their lifetime. Currently, more women (23.8%) than men (11.3%) are being treated for depression. Since 2017, the rate is up 6.2 points for women and 2 points for men.
Women are more likely to work in healthcare occupations, thus being more emotionally exposed to the COVID-19 epidemic, and were also more likely to leave their jobs during the pandemic, Gallup points out.
Adults aged 18 to 29 (24.6%) also have the highest rates of current depression or treatment for depression. Daily experiences of sadness, worry and anger — all of which are closely related to depression — are highest for those under 30 and those with lower income levels, Gallup says.
Lifetime depression rates are also climbing fast among Black and Hispanic adults and have now surpassed those of white respondents.
Americans are not more depressed than people in other nations, according to Gallup. The research estimated that 22% of Northern American adults have experienced depression or anxiety so extreme that they could not continue regular daily activities for two weeks or longer, similar to a global rate of 19% and matching estimates found in Western Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, and South Asia.
According to Harvard Medical School, there are many possible causes of depression, including faulty mood regulation by the brain, genetic vulnerability, and stressful life events. It's believed that several of these forces interact to bring on depression.
The most recent results, obtained Feb. 21-28, 2023, are based on 5,167 U.S. adults surveyed by web as part of the Gallup Panel, a probability-based panel of about 100,000 adults across all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
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