Depression is a serious health problem that affects the way we think, feel, and handle our daily activities.
It’s more than just feeling “down” or “blue” for a few days. Depression is long-lasting and can severely disrupt our lives.
For the first time, scientists from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have looked at depression rates across all 50 U.S. states.
They found out which states have the most people dealing with this difficult disease.
In the whole of the United States, almost 1 in 5 adults (18.5%) said they had been diagnosed with depression at some point in their lives.
Depression Rates Vary by State
But when you look closer, there’s a big difference in depression rates from state to state.
In Hawaii, only about 1 in 8 adults (12.7%) had been diagnosed with depression. But in West Virginia, it was more than 1 in 4 (27.5%) – that’s more than double Hawaii’s rate!
Benjamin Lee and his team at the CDC hope their study will help states figure out the best ways to prevent, treat, and manage depression.
The Most and Least Affected Areas
The study showed that people in the Southeast and Northwest of the U.S. seem to be hit hardest by depression.
Apart from West Virginia, six other Southeastern states – Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Tennessee – had depression rates of 23% or higher.
In the Northwest, Montana, Oregon, and Washington all had depression rates of 21% or more.
Other states with high rates of depression were Utah, Maine, and Vermont, where over 23% of adults said they’d been diagnosed with depression.
On the flip side, states with the lowest rates of depression (besides Hawaii) were Alaska, California, Florida, Illinois, and New Jersey.
The Data Behind the Study
The scientists based their study on a massive survey done in 2020.
The survey reached across over 3,100 counties in the U.S., and almost 393,000 adults answered questions about their mental health. The study showed that rates of depression can vary greatly, even within one country.
What Can We Do About It?
The researchers believe that making mental health care easy and affordable for all Americans is key to reducing depression rates.
By knowing which areas are most affected, leaders can allocate resources more effectively to help those who need it the most.
The results of this important study were published on June 16 in the CDC journal Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
If you care about depression, please read studies about vegetarianism linked to higher risk of depression, and Vitamin D could help reduce depression symptoms.
For more information about health, please see recent studies that ultra-processed foods may make you feel depressed, and these antioxidants could help reduce the risk of dementia.
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