From Tracee Cornforth,
Your Guide to Women's Health.
FREE Newsletter. Sign Up Now!

About.com Health's Disease and Condition content is reviewed by the Medical Review Board

More than 17 million Americans experience depression every year. The majority of them are women. In fact, women experience depression twice as often as men and they often experience it earlier, longer, and more severely. Higher rates of depression in women may be linked to biological and social differences.

True depression is more than just the occasional "blues" that most people encounter now and then. Depression affects the whole person -- mind, body, personal life, work life.

When a person is depressed some brain chemicals are too low which causes the brain's nerve cells to work slower. This reduction in brain chemicals causes depression. Depression sometimes results following extremely stressful times such as divorce or the death of a loved one.

Women are more likely than men to experience depression in association with other conditions such as eating disorders, anxiety, and stress. On the other hand, men tend to have depression associated with alcoholism, antisocial behaviors, obsessive-compulsive personalities, and self-centered behaviors.

Women who experience PMS often become depressed during the week preceding their periods. Between three and five percent of women experience menstrual-related depression and anxiety so severe that it is classified as premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD)--a severely debilitating disorder that requires treatment. Women may feel depressed as a result of infertility, miscarriage, and surgical menopause.

Married women are more likely to suffer from depression than married men, and mothers even more likely. In fact, the more children a woman has the greater her chance of depression. Women who have been victims of rape or domestic violence are at increased risk of major depressive illness and should seek counseling at the time the incident occurs.

Older women who are depressed may be at a greater risk for falls that result in bone fractures.

What are the risk factors for depression in women?

• Oral contraceptives--particularly those with high progesterone content.
• History of physical/sexual abuse in childhood.
• Infertility treatments involving the use of gonadotropin stimulants.
• Stress.
• Loss or threat of loss of social support system.
• Death of a parent before the age of 10.
• Family history of mood disorders.
• Personal history of mood disorders, particularly during the early reproductive years.

What are the symptoms of depression?

• Depressed mood.
• Reduction of interest or pleasure in activities.
• Loss of interest in sex.
• Feelings of guilt, hopelessness, and worthlessness.
• Recurrent suicidal thoughts.
• Not being able to sleep or sleeping too much (insomnia or hypersomia).
• Changes in appetite including weight loss or weight gain.
• Difficulty concentrating or maintaining attention.
• Lack of energy or constant fatigue.
• Other psychomotor disturbances.

Risk of Suicide...

Women are more likely than men to attempt suicide as a result of depression, however men are more successful in their suicidal attempts than women. Seventy percent of suicide attempts by women are by self-poisoning, while men more often choose a more violent method.

All suicide threats should be taken seriously--contact a mental health worker or medical professional immediately if someone you know makes such a threat.