(Press-News.org) MAYWOOD, Il. - The recent Great Recession was accompanied by a significant and sustained increase in major depression in U.S. adults, according to a Loyola study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.
Prevalence of major depression increased from 2.33 percent during the years 2005-2006 to 3.49 percent in 2009-2010 to 3.79 percent in 2011-2012, according to the study by Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine researchers.
Prevalence of less-severe depression increased from 4.1 percent in 2005-2006 to 4.79 percent in 2009-2010, but then declined to 3.68 percent in 2011-2012.
The study is the first to evaluate the population-wide impact of the Great Recession on mental health.
The study was a collaboration among Loyola researchers in the Department of Public Health Sciences and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences.
Prevalence of both major and less severe depression was highest among adults who were living in poverty or had less than a high school education. "The mental health of these vulnerable populations may be most affected during time periods of economic distress, but more research is needed," researchers wrote.
It's plausible, researchers concluded, that the Great Recession's negative effects on employment, housing security, and stock investments contributed to the sustained increase in major depression. However, they noted it is possible other factors could have played a role.
"The impact of the economic downturn on depression prevalence should be considered when formulating future policies and programs to promote and maintain the health of the U.S. population," researchers wrote.
The Great Recession officially began in December, 2007, and lasted for 18 months. But the effects of the recession, including high unemployment and home foreclosures and reduced consumer confidence, remained high even after the recession officially ended in June, 2009. During the past decade, more than 8 million jobs were lost and about 3 million homes were foreclosed.
Researchers analyzed data from 24,182 adults who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey during the years 2005 to 2012. Respondents were judged to be depressed depending on their answers to a depression questionnaire. The questionnaire asked about such depression criteria as depressed mood or irritability; decreased interest or pleasure in most activities; feelings of worthlessness or guilt; thoughts of suicide; and fatigue or loss of energy.
INFORMATION:
Senior author of the study is Murali Rao, MD, professor and chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Co-authors are Kaushal Mehta, MD, MPH (first author); Holly Kramer, MD, MPH, (corresponding author); Ramon Durazo-Arvizu, PhD; Guichan Cao, MS; and Liping Tong, PhD.
The study is available at
http://www.psychiatrist.com/jcp/article/Pages/2015/v76n04/v76n0415.aspx
Leesburg, VA, April 24, 2015--Digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) increases the rate of cancer detection in women with dense breast tissue by as much as 67%, according to new research from the Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia.
"There are a lot of data showing that screening with DBT increases cancer detection, but much less is known about the effect of density and lesion type on detection rates," said coauthor Caroline Ling. "We found a striking increase in detection among women with dense breasts called back for mass and asymmetry relative to nondense breasts."
The ...
Functional analysis of a cell, which is the fundamental unit of life, is important for gaining new insights into medical and pharmaceutical fields. For efficiently studying cell functions, it is essential to reconstruct cellular microenvironments by parallel manipulation of single cells. Various cell manipulation techniques including fluidic, optical, and electrical techniques have been developed.
However, all these techniques lack flexibility with respect to changes in the cellular types, number, and places. In addition, the manipulations, which have been conducted in ...
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While nearly all of the 398 hospitals in the study use a variety of measures to protect their patients from Clostridium difficile infections, 48 percent haven't adopted strict limits on the use of antibiotics and other drugs that can allow the dangerous bug to flourish, the researchers report.
Hospital ...
This news release is available in German. The world is a risky place. But our subjective fears and anxieties are often at odds with the evidence. New findings by scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development and the University of Konstanz show that subjective fears about potential risks may be amplified in social exchange. Their findings have now been published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
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New research shows that orphaned boys in these settings are just as likely to experience abuse as girls. As a result, the study authors suggest targeting more support services and prevention programs toward protecting vulnerable boys.
Researchers from Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found that physical and sexual abuse affects 12 percent of girls and 14 ...
Thinking "time is money" can be a barrier for people to act in environmentally friendly ways, even for tasks like recycling that take mere seconds, according to UBC research.
As Earth Day approaches on April 22, this dynamic has led to an unsettling outcome.
"Putting a price tag on time leaves individuals to focus on their own needs and goals, as opposed to the needs and goals of others, including the environment," says Ashley Whillans, PhD student in UBC's Department of Psychology and lead author of a paper on the subject.
In one of the paper's studies, a group of ...
