7.6% of Americans are depressed, but few seek mental health treatment
Gender, on the other hand, had a large effect, with women experiencing higher levels of depression than men in all age groups. The biggest gap was among people in their 40s and 50s — 12.3% of women in this age group were moderately or severely depressed, compared with 7.2% of men. That 5.1-point difference was 30% bigger than the 3.9-point difference for the entire study population. Overall, 9.5% of women were depressed, along with 5.6% of men.
Depression took a meaningful toll on people’s lives, the researchers discovered. About 43% of those with severe depression said they had “serious difficulty” managing their work, home and social activities, and another 45% had “some difficulty.” For people with moderate depression, the corresponding figures were 16% and 58%. Even for people with mild depressive symptoms, 4% had serious difficulty with their daily activities and 42% had some difficulty.