Despite the robustness of this correlation, gender itself is a proxy term for a complex of biological, behavioral, and psychosocial variables and processes, which remain as yet incompletely understood. Depressive disorders and most anxiety disorders are, on average, two to three times more common in females than males. Eating disorders are eight to ten times more common in females. Males are more likely to be affected by developmental disorders such as autism and attention deficit disorder and by substance and alcohol abuse and conduct disorders. Gender differences in such features as neuropsychological profiles, risk for onset or recurrence, symptom severity, or disability have important practical significance for treatment and services needs.
Mental disorders are major sources of disease-related disability.
In general, women are the primary consumers of treatments and services for mental disorders, but there is little consideration of epidemiological and clinical findings of gender differences applied to public mental health policy and services delivery systems. The majority of serious mental disorders have an onset in early adulthood or adolescence and a recurrent or chronic course. Thus the social impact of mental disorders falls disproportionately on women during the childbearing and childrearing years suggesting the need for more intervention research for women during pregnancy and lactation.