WHO: Depression Largest Cause of Disability Worldwide
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FILE - A patient is seen walking toward a group therapy room at a mental health facility in the Balkans. Depression is now the leading cause of global mental and physical disability, a WHO study finds.
The report found the prevalence rates for depression peak among older adults, affecting two percent more women between the ages of 55 and 74 than men. However, across all age groups, it said depression was 1.5 times more common among females than males.
Breaking a widespread misconception, Chisholm said the disorders were not diseases of the rich or the affluent. He said more than 80 percent of these conditions were present in low-and-middle-income countries.
He told VOA that depression around the world was rising mainly because the world’s population was growing and aging, particularly in developing countries.
“For example, African countries might have 40-50 percent of the population under the age of 15, but as they transition, they might have only 30 percent. So, you have more people reaching adulthood where the rates of depression are highest,” Chisholm said.
He said this was what was driving the increase over time in the numbers of people. Because of the demographic factors, he said, many countries were going to see a dramatic increase.
“Nigeria is going to double probably in the next 50 years. So, we can expect more cases of these disorders,” Chisholm said.
While depression was a growing problem in Africa, the report noted that nearly half of people living with this condition were in the heavily populated regions of South-East Asia and the West Pacific.
This report is a precursor to the World Health Day celebration on April 7. In a build-up to the event, WHO launched a one-year campaign in October called “Depression: Let’s Talk” to highlight the problems associated with depression.
[b] ‘So much stigma’[/b]
Alison Brunier, WHO Communications Officer, told VOA that the name of the campaign was chosen because “talking is really the first step towards recovery.”
FILE - An elderly man walks by an electronic stock board of a securities firm in Tokyo, Aug. 19, 2016. The elderly are said to be more prone to depression as they became more isolated from their communities.