Society's successful functioning depends on the health and strength of women and men alike. Epidemiological studies have found clear differences in the prevalence of depression, anxiety disorders, and eating disorders between women and men, and NIMH-supported research is investigating why these gender differences exist. Important factors being examined include neurodevelopmental, hormonal, and sociocultural influences on mood, thought, and behavior. While women and men are equally likely to develop manic-depressive illness, women are more likely than men to suffer from major depression and dysthymia. According to a recent study by the World Health Organization, the World Bank, and Harvard University, unipolar major depression is the leading cause of disease burden among females ages 5 and older worldwide.
Depressive disorders can put women at risk for suicide.
Although men are more likely than women to die by suicide, women report attempting suicide about twice as often as men. Self-inflicted injury, including suicide, ranks 9th out of the 10 leading causes of disease burden for females ages 5 and older worldwide. Research shows that before adolescence and late in life, females and males experience depression with the same frequency. Because the gender difference in depression is not seen until after puberty and disappears following menopause, scientists hypothesize that hormonal factors are involved in women's greater vulnerability. Stress due to psychosocial factors, such as multiple roles in the home and at work and the increased likelihood of women to be poor, at risk for violence and abuse, and raising children alone, also plays a role in the development of depression and other mental disorders.