evidence

U.S. Depression Rates Reach New Highs

18 empirical findings extracted from peer-reviewed research.

Source

U.S. Depression Rates Reach New Highs

View original source | 1520 words | 18 findings extracted

Key Findings

  • Adults aged 18 to 29 have a 34.3% lifetime depression diagnosis rate.

    • 34.3% (N=5.2K) [2023]
    • 🟡 Strong Signal | survey

  • Women made up 78% of workers in all healthcare occupations in 2019.

    • 78% [2019]
    • 🟡 Strong Signal | government-data

  • Adults aged 30 to 44 have a 34.9% lifetime depression diagnosis rate.

    • 34.9% (N=5.2K) [2023]
    • 🟡 Strong Signal | survey

  • The percentage of Americans who currently have or are being treated for depression has increased to 17.8%.

    • 17.8% (N=5.2K) [2023]
    • 🟡 Strong Signal | survey

  • Rates of current depression or treatment for women aged 18-29 increased by 6.2 percentage points since 2017.

    • Up 6.2 percentage points (N=5.2K) [2023]
    • 🟡 Strong Signal | survey

  • Current experiences of significant loneliness among U.S. adults is 17%.

    • 17% (N=5.2K) [2023]
    • 🟡 Strong Signal | survey

  • The percentage of U.S. adults who report having been diagnosed with depression at some point in their lifetime has reached 29.0%.

    • 29.0% (N=5.2K) [2023]
    • 🟡 Strong Signal | survey

  • Adults aged 18 to 29 have the highest rates of current depression or treatment for depression at 24.6%.

    • 24.6% (N=5.2K) [2023]
    • 🟡 Strong Signal | survey

  • Both lifetime and current depression rates are the highest recorded by Gallup since 2015.

    • Highest since 2015 (N=5.2K) [2023]
    • 🟡 Strong Signal | survey

  • Rates of current depression or treatment for adults aged 18-29 increased by 11.6 percentage points since 2017.

    • Up 11.6 percentage points (N=5.2K) [2023]
    • 🟡 Strong Signal | survey

  • 17% of U.S. adults reporting significant loneliness yesterday projects to an estimated 44 million people.

    • Estimated 44 million people (N=5.2K) [2023]
    • 🟡 Strong Signal | survey

  • Women have the highest rates of current depression or treatment for depression at 23.8%.

    • 23.8% (N=5.2K) [2023]
    • 🟡 Strong Signal | survey

  • Over one-third of women (36.7%) now report having been diagnosed with depression at some point in their lifetime.

    • 36.7% (N=5.2K) [2023]
    • 🟡 Strong Signal | survey

  • Women's lifetime depression diagnosis rate has risen at nearly twice the rate of men since 2017.

    • Nearly twice the rate of men (N=5.2K) [2023]
    • 🟡 Strong Signal | survey

  • 20.4% of men report having been diagnosed with depression at some point in their lifetime.

    • 20.4% (N=5.2K) [2023]
    • 🟡 Strong Signal | survey

  • 22% of Northern American adults have experienced depression or anxiety so extreme that they could not continue regular daily activities for two weeks or longer.

    • 22%
    • 🟠 Hypothesis | survey

  • 19% of adults globally have experienced depression or anxiety so extreme that they could not continue regular daily activities for two weeks or longer.

    • 19%
    • 🟠 Hypothesis | survey

  • Globally, nearly four in 10 adults aged 15 and older either endure significant depression or anxiety themselves or have a close friend or family member who suffers from it.

    • Nearly four in 10
    • 🟠 Hypothesis | survey

Confidence Summary

Tier Count Description
🟢 Irrefutable 0 Meta-analyses, large RCTs, Cochrane reviews
🟡 Strong Signal 15 Multiple studies, large surveys
🟠 Hypothesis 3 Single study, small N, preliminary