Depression Statistics
Depression is the most common mental health disorder or illness in the US among teenagers and adults. These alarming statistics show that this is a very large and concerning problem.
- About 20 percent of teens will experience teen depression before they reach adulthood.
- Somewhere between 10 and 15 percent of teens show symptoms of depression at any given time.
- About 5 percent of teens are suffering from major depression at any one time.
- As many as 8.3 percent of teens suffer from depression for at least a year at a time.
- Most teens with depression will suffer from more than one episode. 20 to 40 percent will have more than one episode within two years, and 70 percent will have more than one episode before adulthood. Episodes of teen depression generally last about 8 months.
- Dysthymia, a type of mild, long-lasting depression, affects about 2 percent of teens, and about the same percentage of teens develop bipolar disorder in their late teenage years. 15 percent of teens with depression eventually develop bipolar disorder.
- A small percent of teens also suffer from seasonal depression, usually during the winter months in higher latitudes.
- 30 percent of teens suffering from depression will also develop one or more problems with substance abuse.
- Less than 33 percent of teens suffering from depression successfully seek and receive help for their disorder.