Women were more likely than men to have experienced depression symptoms that were mild (13.4% and 9.6%, respectively), moderate (4.9% and 3.4%, respectively), and severe (3.5% and 2.1%, respectively).
Women are nearly twice as likely as men to be diagnosed with depression. Depression can occur at any age.
People who have gone through adverse life events (unemployment, bereavement, traumatic events) are more likely to develop depression.
Prevalence of Major Depressive Episode Among Adults
This number represented 8.4% of all U.S. adults. The prevalence of major depressive episode was higher among adult females (10.5%) compared to males (6.2%).
At What Age Is Depression Most Common? According to CDC data from 2019, 21% of adults experiencing any depressive symptoms in the most recent two weeks were between 18 and 29 years old. This incidence is the largest among all adult age groups.
It found that, among Australians aged 16–85, 15% experienced high or very high levels of psychological distress. Females aged 16–34 were more likely to experience psychological distress than males of this age group (26% compared to 14%) (ABS 2022a). Refer to the data visualisation for more detail.
50% of mental health problems are established by age 14 and 75% by age 24. 10% of children and young people (aged 5-16 years) have a clinically diagnosable mental problem3, yet 70% of children and adolescents who experience mental health problems have not had appropriate interventions at a sufficiently early age.
Culture dominates behavior and emotions. Some cultures allow people to express feelings with ease while others suppress those feelings. According to Shah, some global reports indicate that depression is more common in certain countries, such as large countries like the United States, China, India and Bangladesh.
Severe childhood physical or sexual abuse, childhood emotional and physical neglect, and severe life stress are probably all risk factors. Losing a parent early in life probably also increases risk to some extent.
People high in neuroticism (very emotionally sensitive) and introverts are two personality types more likely to experience negative thoughts research finds. In addition, being introverted is linked to spontaneously remembering more negative life events.