Concepedia

Global burden of depressive disorders in the year 2000

T. Bedirhan Üstün, José Luís Ayuso‐Mateos, Somnath Chatterji, Colin Mathers, Christopher Murray

The British Journal of Psychiatry · 2004 · 1.7K citations · 27 references

Open access

TL;DR

Depression was the fourth leading cause of disease burden worldwide, accounting for 3.7 % of global DALYs in 1990. The study aimed to provide updated estimates of depression burden for the year 2000. Researchers calculated region‑specific DALYs for depressive disorders using updated mortality, prevalence, incidence, age at onset, duration, and disability severity data. In 2000, depression remained the fourth leading cause of disease burden, representing 4.4 % of global DALYs and nearly 12 % of all years lived with disability, underscoring its major public‑health impact.

Abstract

Background The initial Global Burden of Disease study found that depression was the fourth leading cause of disease burden, accounting for 3.7% of total disability adjusted life years (DALYs) in the world in 1990. Aims To present the new estimates of depression burden for the year 2000. Method DALYs for depressive disorders in each world region were calculated, based on new estimates of mortality, prevalence, incidence, average age at onset, duration and disability severity. Results Depression is the fourth leading cause of disease burden, accounting for 4.4% of total DALYs in the year 2000, and it causes the largest amount of non-fatal burden, accounting for almost 12% of all total years lived with disability worldwide. Conclusions These data on the burden of depression worldwide represent a major public health problem that affects patients and society.