WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Depression is becoming increasingly common among both adults and adolescents in the United States, yet the majority of those affected are not receiving professional help, according to a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The findings, released by the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics, are based on data collected from a federal health survey conducted between August 2021 and August 2023.
Participants were asked whether they had experienced symptoms associated with depression over the previous two weeks. Their responses were scored using a standard screening tool to determine the presence of clinical depression.
The report shows that 13.1 percent of individuals aged 12 and older exhibited signs of depression during the 2021-2023 period. This marks a significant increase from 8.2 percent reported in the 2013-2014 survey.
Depression rates were notably higher among women (16 percent) than men (10.1 percent), and the condition was more common in younger age groups. Nearly one in five adolescents (19.2 percent) reported symptoms of depression, while only 8.7 percent of adults aged 60 and older did.
Despite this growing prevalence, only about 39.3 percent of those with depression reported receiving any counseling or therapy in the past year. The gap in treatment is even more pronounced when broken down by gender - 43 percent of women with depression received therapy compared to just 33.2 percent of men.
The CDC also emphasized the importance of these findings for shaping public health strategies and improving access to mental health care, especially for younger populations and underserved groups.
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