A distinguished Scientific Advisory Board of nearly 65 members reviews all materials published by National DMDA for medical and scientific accuracy and provides critical and timely advice on important research opportunities and treatment breakthroughs. This Board includes the leading researchers and clinicians in the field of mood disorders. An additional 2.3 million people suffer from manic-depression or bipolar disorder. Women are more than twice as likely as men to experience major depression. Two out of three people with mood disorders do not get proper treatment because their symptoms are not recognized, are misdiagnosed or, due to the stigma associated with mental illness, their symptoms are blamed on personal weakness.
Depression is the leading cause of suicide in the United States.
In fact, the suicide rate is 50 percent higher than the homicide rate in the United States. The fact that mood disorders carry a higher burden of disease in our society than cancer illustrates the need for more adequate funding in this area for research. We can no longer continue to ignore the burden of mood disorders for our society and must focus our research resources on better understanding these illnesses, significantly improving treatments, and seeking a cure. In fact, their treatment success rates are higher than for other chronic illnesses. However, one of the biggest obstacles to expanding access to services is the historical stigma surrounding mental health treatment, exemplified by arbitrary and unfair limits placed on access to mental health services by private health insurance plans.