<p>From <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dysthymia#Epidemiology" rel="nofollow">Wikipedia</a>, with dysthymia being another word for "chronic depression":</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Globally dysthymia occurs in about 105 million people a year (1.5% of the population). It is slightly more common in women (1.8%) than in men (1.3%). The lifetime prevalence rate of dysthymia in community settings appears to range from 3 to 6% in the United States. However, in primary care settings the rate is higher ranging from 5 to 15 percent. United States prevalence rates tend to be somewhat higher than rates in other countries.</p>
</blockquote>

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2016-07-03T17:31:49.840Z
That's a good start but not all lifelong depressibe episodes are considered dysthymia.
D J Sims
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2016-07-03T19:32:43.467Z
@DJSims, perhaps you could add in your question what you would consider as lifelong depression. Otherwise, more people have to keep guessing what you want, like mfloren did really nicely I must say.
Robin Kramer-ten Have
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2016-07-03T21:04:34.503Z
Lifelong depression means lifelong depression lasting the entire life
D J Sims
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2016-07-03T17:14:40.353Z
2016-07-04T13:28:38.487Z
2016-07-04T13:28:38.487Z
mflo-ByeSE
<p>What is the prevalence in the general population? </p>

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2016-06-28T14:32:28.130Z
This is an interesting question, but could you provide any background to your question. What initial research have you done so far and why are you interested (personal or scientific relevance)? **The more context you provide, the better we'll be able to answer your question.**
Robin Kramer-ten Have
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2016-06-28T16:50:42.747Z
I'm just curious for scientific reasons
D J Sims
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2016-06-28T16:59:23.947Z
Let me give you an example question of what would be [perfect](http://cogsci.stackexchange.com/q/356/11318). This question clearly shows some background information that helps other people understand the topic and shows/convinces people why the topic is relevant. Also some hypotheses are provided that can be confirmed or disproven. The general question shows the level of expertise of the OP and the level of difficulty he wanted an answer. This resulted in a one-shot perfect answer that immediately hit the mark. Anything you do in the direction of that question would make yours better.
Robin Kramer-ten Have
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-28T18:24:03.517Z
What's the point of having this site if you can't get an answer to an extremely clear question about a specific categorical fact
D J Sims
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-28T18:43:21.437Z
The website is not only about meeting your needs. It is about creating a knowledge database wherein other people may find the answers (as opposed to asking new questions). The more context you give the better people will be able the put the answers into perspective. Then, if the question/answer is not exactly what they were after, people can ask a new well defined question that supplements the first. Another benefit of more context to your questions, is that it makes people more willing to answer it. Please do not see this as an attack, it are mere tips to get better answers and content.
Robin Kramer-ten Have
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2016-06-28T18:44:47.220Z
So you think I'm the only person who will ever ask this question?
D J Sims
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2016-06-28T19:01:30.930Z
No, I hope that other people with the same question can find their answers in this one. And, what I said before, people must be willing to put effort in answering it. What helps thus is showing the relevance to them. The higher the quality of the question, the higher the quality of the answer will be, which will make both you and the community happy.
Robin Kramer-ten Have
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-28T19:06:54.890Z
I don't see anything wrong with the question, its asking for a single verifiable number. What isn't clear?
D J Sims
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-03T17:08:31.340Z
Which types of prevalence are you referring to? Which population are you referring to (unfortunately, "general" could mean many different things)? How do you distinguish "lifelong chronic depression" from "chronic depression"? I think that @Robin's suggestion of context may help provide some of these needed details (or allow others to infer), but if you prefer to be context independent, perhaps you would be willing to specify for users who wish to provide an answer to your question...
mflo-ByeSE
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-03T17:25:32.577Z
Lifelong as in over the entire life. Any general population will work. Which types of prevalence are there?
D J Sims
<depression>
What is the prevalence of lifelong, early onset, chronic depression?
D J Sims
# What is the prevalence of lifelong, early onset, chronic depression?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-06-27)

What is the prevalence in the general population?

**Tags:** depression

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: This is an interesting question, but could you provide any background to your question. What initial research have you done so far and why are you interested (personal or scientific relevance)? **The more context you provide, the better we'll be able to answer your question.**  
> **username_0**: I'm just curious for scientific reasons  
> **username_1**: Let me give you an example question of what would be [perfect](http://cogsci.stackexchange.com/q/356/11318). This question clearly shows some background information that helps other people understand the topic and shows/convinces people why the topic is relevant. Also some hypotheses are provided that can be confirmed or disproven. The general question shows the level of expertise of the OP and the level of difficulty he wanted an answer. This resulted in a one-shot perfect answer that immediately hit the mark. Anything you do in the direction of that question would make yours better.  
> **username_0**: What's the point of having this site if you can't get an answer to an extremely clear question about a specific categorical fact  
> **username_1**: The website is not only about meeting your needs. It is about creating a knowledge database wherein other people may find the answers (as opposed to asking new questions). The more context you give the better people will be able the put the answers into perspective. Then, if the question/answer is not exactly what they were after, people can ask a new well defined question that supplements the first. Another benefit of more context to your questions, is that it makes people more willing to answer it. Please do not see this as an attack, it are mere tips to get better answers and content.  
> **username_0**: So you think I'm the only person who will ever ask this question?  
> **username_1**: No, I hope that other people with the same question can find their answers in this one. And, what I said before, people must be willing to put effort in answering it. What helps thus is showing the relevance to them. The higher the quality of the question, the higher the quality of the answer will be, which will make both you and the community happy.  
> **username_0**: I don't see anything wrong with the question, its asking for a single verifiable number. What isn't clear?  
> **username_2**: Which types of prevalence are you referring to? Which population are you referring to (unfortunately, "general" could mean many different things)? How do you distinguish "lifelong chronic depression" from "chronic depression"? I think that @Robin's suggestion of context may help provide some of these needed details (or allow others to infer), but if you prefer to be context independent, perhaps you would be willing to specify for users who wish to provide an answer to your question...  
> **username_0**: Lifelong as in over the entire life. Any general population will work. Which types of prevalence are there?  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2016-07-03. Score: 5

From [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dysthymia#Epidemiology), with dysthymia being another word for "chronic depression":

> Globally dysthymia occurs in about 105 million people a year (1.5% of the population). It is slightly more common in women (1.8%) than in men (1.3%). The lifetime prevalence rate of dysthymia in community settings appears to range from 3 to 6% in the United States. However, in primary care settings the rate is higher ranging from 5 to 15 percent. United States prevalence rates tend to be somewhat higher than rates in other countries.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: That's a good start but not all lifelong depressibe episodes are considered dysthymia.  
> **username_1**: @DJSims, perhaps you could add in your question what you would consider as lifelong depression. Otherwise, more people have to keep guessing what you want, like mfloren did really nicely I must say.  
> **username_0**: Lifelong depression means lifelong depression lasting the entire life  

---

