The Somber Statistics

Depression is the cause of more than two-thirds of the 30,000 reported suicides in the United States each year. (White House Conference on Mental Health, 1999)

The highest suicide rates in America are found in white men over the age of 85. (National Vital Statistics Report, 1997)

Women are disproportionately affected by depression, experiencing it at twice the rate of men. This 2:1 ratio exists regardless of racial and ethnic background or economic status. The lifetime prevalence of major depression is 20 to 26 percent for women and 8 to 12 percent for men, generally because men do not report their symptoms or seek treatment as readily as women. (Journal of the American Medical Association, 1996)

Clinical depression costs the United States $44 billion annually, including workplace costs for absenteeism and lost productivity ($23.8 billion), direct costs for treatment and rehabilitation ($12.4 billion) and loss of earnings due to depression-induced suicides ($7.5 billion). (Analysis Group and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 1993).

    Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 9 Feb 2006
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