Depression affects persons of all ages, genders, and races.
See Table 33.1 for a list of risk factors for major depression. Patients with major depressive disorders have a great deal of functional impairment, resulting in lost time on the job, decreased job performance, and decreased family and social functioning. Effective medical treatments are available for major depression. All women should receive age-specific psychosocial evaluations to detect depression and other problems. However, physicians should be sensitive to the possibility of depression in their patients, particularly those at high risk.