Important Facts for Depression: Adult Prevalence

Definition

The percentage of adults aged 18 and above who have ever been told by a doctor, nurse, or other health professional that they have a depressive disorder, including depression, major depression, dysthymia, or minor depression.

Numerator

The number of adults aged 18 and above who have ever been told by a doctor, nurse, or other health professional that they have a depressive disorder, including depression, major depression, dysthymia, or minor depression.

Denominator

Adults aged 18 and above.

Data Interpretation Issues

Question Text: "Has a doctor, nurse, or other health professional EVER told you that you have a depressive disorder, including depression, major depression, dysthymia, or minor depression?" NOTE: The question asks about lifetime diagnosis and does not reflect current major depression. As with all surveys, some error results from nonresponse (e.g., refusal to participate in the survey or to answer specific questions), and measurement (e.g., social desirability or recall bias). Error was minimized by use of strict calling protocols, good questionnaire design, standardization of interviewer behavior, interviewer training, and frequent, on-site interviewer monitoring and supervision.

Why Is This Important?

Approximately 20.6%* of adults in the U.S. experienced some kind of mental illness during 2019^1^. Of all mental illnesses, depression is the most common disorder^2^, with 7.1% of adults suffering from at least one episode of major depression in 2017^3^. Major depression is defined as having severe symptoms that interfere with a person's ability to work, sleep, study, eat, and enjoy life. Symptoms of major depression may include fatigue or loss of energy, feelings of worthlessness or guilt, impaired concentration, loss of interest in daily activities, appetite or weight changes, sleep changes, and recurring thoughts of death or suicide. Despite the availability of effective treatments for major depression, such as medications and/or psychotherapeutic techniques, it often goes unrecognized and untreated.^4^[[br]] [[br]] ---- 1. National Institute of Mental Health. ''Any Mental Illness (AMI) Among U.S. Adults''. Retrieved from [https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/mental-illness.shtml] on November 24, 2020. [[br]] 2. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ''Healthy People 2010''. 2nd ed. With Understanding and Improving Health and Objectives for Improving Health. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, November 2000.[[br]] 3. National Institute of Mental Health. ''Major Depression Among Adults''. Retrieved from [https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/prevalence/major-depression-among-adults.shtml] on November 24, 2020. [[br]] 4. National Alliance on Mental Illness Retrieved from [http://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Mental-Health-Conditions/Depression] on November 24, 2020. *2020 U.S. data is yet to be released and will be updated as soon as current data becomes available.

Healthy People Objective MHMD-11:

Increase depression screening by primary care providers
U.S. Target: Not applicable, see subobjectives in this category

Other Objectives

Related to Healthy People 2030 Objective MHMD-11: Increase depression screening by primary care providers.

How Are We Doing?

In Utah during 2020, adult women (30.4%) had significantly higher rates of doctor-diagnosed depression than men (16.0%). Combined years 2018-2020 Utah data showed the following: * Hispanic (18.3%), Asian (11.7%), and Pacific Islander (14.6%) adults reported lower lifetime depression than the state rate. White adults (24.7%) reported higher lifetime depression than the state rate. * Adults with a household income less than $25,000 (34.2%) and those with a household income $25,000-$49,999 (25.8%) had significantly higher rates of lifetime doctor-diagnosed depression, while adults with an income greater than $75,000 (19.2%) had lower rates of lifetime depression. * Depression also varied by education. Utah adults aged 25 and above with a college education (19.7%) had a lower rate of doctor-diagnosed depression than adult Utahns with less education. * Adults in Central (20.6%), San Juan (16.4%), Utah County (18.9%), and Wasatch Local Health District (18.9%) reported lower rates of doctor-diagnosed depression than the state rate. Tooele County (25.0%) and Weber Morgan (26.7%) had a rate significantly higher than the state rate. * Among Utah Small Areas, Hyrum (36.3%), Brigham City (32.6%), Midvale (32.4%), Sandy (Center) V2 (32.1%), South Salt Lake (31.8%), Murray (31.6%), Ben Lomond (29.9%), Salt Lake City (Downtown) V2 (29.8%), Tooele Valley (28.7%), Carbon County (28.6%) and Layton/South Weber (28.4%) had higher rates of doctor-diagnosed depression than the state rate. San Juan County (Other) (11.5%), Delta/Fillmore (14.7%), Bountiful (17.4%), American Fork (17.9%), Central (Other) (18.1%), Wasatch County (18.9%), and Lehi (19.4%) had lower rates than the state rate.

How Do We Compare With the U.S.?

Utah has consistently higher rates of self-reported lifetime depression than the U.S. rate (23.1% vs. 18.8% in 2020).

What Is Being Done?

The Utah Department of Health Violence and Injury Prevention Program (VIPP) has partnered with the Division of Substance and Mental Health (DSAMH) to facilitate the Suicide Prevention Coalition and Suicide Fatality Reviews. In addition, six local health districts (Bear River, Davis, Summit, Tooele, Utah, Weber-Morgan) have been funded to do suicide prevention activities such as promoting mental health resources and help-seeking behavior, distributing gun locks to reduce access to lethal means, and training the community in suicide prevention using evidence based/promising practice programs like Signs of Suicide, Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR), Working Minds, and SafeTALK. These trainings promote suicide first aid by teaching individuals to recognize the warning signs of suicide, how to offer hope, and how to refer to resources and save a life.

Evidence-based Practices

Evidence based practices for suicide prevention and media messaging can be found on [http://vipp.health.utah.gov/suicide-data/].