Major Depression
Major depression is one of the most common mental disorders in the United States. For some individuals, major depression can result in severe impairments that interfere with or limit one’s ability to carry out major life activities.
Additional information can be found on the Depressify page on Depression.
The past year prevalence data presented here for major depressive episode are from the 2020 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). The NSDUH study definition of major depressive episode is based mainly on the 5th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5):
- A period of at least two weeks when a person experienced a depressed mood or loss of interest or pleasure in daily activities, and had a majority of specified symptoms, such as problems with sleep, eating, energy, concentration, or self-worth.
- No exclusions were made for major depressive episode symptoms caused by medical illness, substance use disorders, or medication.
Prevalence of Major Depressive Episode Among Adults
- Figure 1 shows the past year prevalence of major depressive episode among U.S. adults aged 18 or older in 2020.
- An estimated 21.0 million adults in the United States had at least one major depressive episode. 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%).
- The prevalence of adults with a major depressive episode was highest among individuals aged 18-25 (17.0%). The prevalence of major depressive episode was highest among those who report having multiple (two or more) races (15.9%).
*The estimate for Native Hawaiian / Other Pacific Islander group is not reported in the above figure due to low precision of data collection in 2020.
- Figure 2 shows the past year prevalence of major depressive dissorder episode among Indian adults aged 18 or older in the survey of National Mental Health Survey of India, 2015-16 .
- According to the 2015 NHMS survey, one in every 20 Indians, or 5.3% of the population, was found to have suffered from depressive disorders at some point in their lives.
- The 2015-16 National Mental Health Survey further revealed that 15% of Indian adults require active intervention for one or more mental health issues. The same survey indicated that At the time of the survey, 2.7% were reported to be actively dealing with these disorders.
- All information presented here has been meticulously researched from verified sources and checked by psychologist, Ms. Rasika Karkare.
