January 3, 2008

Treatment for Past Year Depression among Adults

In 2005 and 2006, an annual average of 15.8 million adults aged 18 or older (7.3 percent) experienced a major depressive episode (MDE) in the past year.¹ Several treatments for depression are available, including various psychotherapeutic approaches and antidepressant medications, although many adults who experience an MDE do not receive any treatment for their symptoms.²

The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) asks persons aged 12 or older questions to assess lifetime and past year MDE. The survey defines MDE using the diagnostic criteria set forth in the 4th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV),³ which specifies a period of 2 weeks or longer in which there is either depressed mood or loss of interest or pleasure and at least four other symptoms that reflect a change in functioning, such as problems with sleep, eating, energy, concentration, and self-image.⁴ Respondents with MDE are asked about their experiences with treatment for depression during the past year. Treatment for depression is defined as seeing or talking to a medical doctor or other professional about depression or using prescription medication in the past year for depression. NSDUH also asks respondents who have received past year treatment of depression about their perceptions of the help they received from treatment.⁵

This issue of The NSDUH Report examines variation in the utilization of treatment for depression, types of treatment received, and satisfaction with that treatment among adults aged 18 or older who experienced at least one MDE in the past year. All findings presented in this report are based on combined 2005 and 2006 NSDUH data.

In 2005 and 2006, an annual average of 67.4 percent of adults aged 18 or older who experienced a past year MDE received treatment for depression in the past year. Adult females who had experienced past year MDE were more likely than their male counterparts to have received past year treatment for depression (72.2 vs. 58.2 percent). Among adults who experienced past year MDE, those aged 50 or older were more likely than those in other age groups to have received treatment for depression in the past year (Figure 1). There was no difference by family income in the rates of past year treatment for depression among adults with past year MDE, but those who were college graduates were more likely than those with less education to have received treatment for depression in the past year (e.g., 72.3 percent for college graduates vs. 66.2 percent for high school graduates). Adults with past year MDE who lived in large metropolitan areas were less likely than their counterparts who lived in small metropolitan or non-metropolitan areas to have received past year treatment for depression (64.9 vs. 68.9 and 71.4 percent, respectively).⁶

Figure 1. Percentages of Past Year Treatment for Depression* among Persons Aged 18 or Older with Past Year Major Depressive Episode (MDE), by Age Group: 2005 and 2006

Among adults aged 18 or older who experienced past year MDE and who also received treatment for depression in the past year, 69.4 percent saw or talked to a medical doctor or other professional about depression and used prescription medication for depression, 23.8 percent saw or talked to a medical doctor or other professional about depression but did not take prescription medication for depression, and 6.7 percent took prescription medication for depression but did not see or talk with a medical doctor or other professional about depression in the past year.^{7, 8}

Among adults aged 18 or older with past year MDE who saw or talked to a medical doctor or other professional in the past year about depression, 40.5 percent reported that this treatment was extremely helpful or helped a lot, 29.2 reported that this treatment offered some help, and 30.2 percent reported that this treatment was of little help or no help at all (Figure 2). Adult females with past year MDE who saw or talked to a medical doctor or other professional about depression were more likely than their male counterparts to report that this type of treatment was extremely helpful or helped a lot (44.0 vs. 32.5 percent). There was no difference across age groups in the perceived helpfulness of talking to doctors or other professionals about depression.

Figure 2. Percentages** of Perceptions of Help Received from Seeing or Talking to a Medical Doctor or Other Professional about Depression among Persons Aged 18 or Older with Past Year Major Depressive Episode (MDE): 2005 and 2006

Among adults with past year MDE who saw or talked to a medical doctor or other professional about depression in the past year, those who also took prescription medication for depression were more likely than those who did not take medication to report that talking with a doctor or other professional about depression was extremely helpful or helped a lot (43.2 vs. 33.0 percent).

Among adults aged 18 or older with past year MDE who took prescription medication for depression in the past year, 52.7 percent reported that this treatment was extremely helpful or helped a lot, 28.0 reported that this treatment offered some help, and 19.3 percent reported that this treatment was of little help or no help at all (Figure 3). Adult females with past year MDE who took prescription medication for depression were more likely than their male counterparts to report that this type of treatment was extremely helpful or helped a lot (56.9 vs. 41.7 percent). Among adults with past year MDE who took prescription medication for depression in the past year, those aged 18 to 25 were less likely than those aged 35 to 49 or those aged 50 or older to report that prescription medication was extremely helpful or helped a lot (44.3 vs. 52.8 and 56.2 percent, respectively).

Figure 3. Percentages of Perceptions of Help Received from Prescription Medication for Depression among Persons Aged 18 or Older with Past Year Major Depressive Episode (MDE): 2005 and 2006

Among adults with past year MDE who took prescription medication for depression in the past year, those who also talked with a medical doctor or other professional about their depression were more likely than their counterparts who did not talk with a doctor or other professional to report that prescription medication was extremely helpful or helped a lot (54.2 vs. 39.0 percent).