Health & Fit Depression Has Spiked By 33% In the Last Five Years, a New Report Says

© Marjan_Apostolovic/Getty Images Diagnoses of clinical depression — also known as major depression — have risen by 33% since 2013, according to a new report from health insurer Blue Cross Blue Shield.

The report, which was based on insurance claims filed by 41 million privately insured Blue Cross Blue Shield members, calls depression the “second most impactful condition on overall health for commercially insured Americans,” behind only high blood pressure. That’s because people with depression also tend to have other health issues, such as chronic illnesses and substance abuse, and as a result may have more significant health care needs and experience worse health outcomes over time.

Being Fit in Middle Age May Protect Against Depression

Lace up your sneakers: Researchers say there may be a relatively inexpensive, non-invasive way to combat depression, beginning in middle-age. About 16 million adults in the U.S., and 350 million people around the world, have depression, a major source of physical and mental disability. It affects people’s employment and their ability to socialize and maintain relationships.

Loading Please Wait. Depression Spikes 33 Percent in 5 Years . 0. In the past five years , depression diagnosis rates have spiked : 65 percent among adolescent girls. Depressed men and women may lose, on average, up to 9.6 years of healthy life, the report says .

Diagnoses of clinical depression — also known as major depression — have risen by 33 % since 2013, according to a new report from health insurer Blue Cross Blue Shield. Women and men with depression may on average lose up to 9.7 years of healthy life, the report says .

“Some of the literature is already starting to predict that by 2030, depression will be the number-one cause for loss of longevity or life,” says Dr. Trent Haywood, chief medical officer at Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. Women and men with depression may on average lose up to 9.7 years of healthy life, the report says.

Depression diagnoses were found to be rising in every demographic, but the uptick has been especially dramatic among young people. Since 2013, rates have spiked by 47% among Millennials, by 65% among adolescent girls and by 47% among adolescent boys, the report says. Women of any age are also more likely than men to be diagnosed with clinical depression.

Certain parts of the country also have more depression cases than others. Maine, Rhode Island, Minnesota and Utah all have depression rates around 6%, according to the research, while Hawaii’s hovers somewhere around 2%. The discrepancy likely relates to different screening standards, as well as environmental and socioeconomic differences across states, Haywood explains.

Understanding your treatment options for depression

Risk factors for depression can include a personal or family history or a stressful life event - like a move, or loss of a loved one. Depression is a medical illness - and not a weakness or moral failing. While it's not really known what's going on in the brain to cause depressive symptoms, it is well known that brain chemical imbalances are the cause of depression. The good news is that multiple treatments are available that work, help manage symptoms, and lower the risk of recurrence.

Depression has spiked by 33 % in the last five years , a new report says . Depression Has Spiked By 33 % In the Last Five Years , a New Report Says .

Depression rates have spiked nearly 33 percent in the past 5 years , a new report claims. Diagnoses of major depressive disorder have risen 33 percent since 2013, now affecting an estimated 9 million commercially insured Americans.

All of these numbers apply specifically to the privately insured Americans included in Blue Cross Blue Shield’s sample of claims, Haywood says; among the general population, rates may be even higher.

Blue Cross Blue Shield’s report is the latest in a string that have highlighted concerning mental health trends in the U.S. A recent report from the health insurer Cigna, for example, found that most Americans are lonely, and a new American Psychiatric Association poll found that almost 40% of Americans report being more anxious than they were last year.

The prevalence of depression, as well as other mental health conditions, underscores the importance of making behavioral health care a routine part of medical visits, Haywood says. That’s especially true given the link between mental and physical health. Depression has been linked to a higher risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, osteoporosis and Alzheimer’s disease, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.

All teens should be screened for depression, new guidelines urge

With a growing number of young people reporting severe depression, parents and pediatricians are being encouraged to recognize the symptoms. Depression is a growing threat to American children and teens. As many as 1 in 5 teens experience depression at some point during adolescence, but parents often miss the clues, and as many as two out of three young people with depression go undiagnosed, research shows.

Since 2013 the diagnoses of 'clinical depression ' - also referred to as major depression has risen alarmingly by 33 %. The figures come courtesy of health insurer, Blue Cross Blue Shield, who say depression is the “second most impactful condition on overall health for commercially insured

Moreover, they report depression rates have jumped by 33 percent in the past five years , steadily increasing across all age and gender groups — with the rates of incidence for adolescents and millennials being of notable concern.

“They’re intertwined,” Haywood says. “You might start with a condition and then go on to have depression, or you might start with depression and go on to have a chronic condition. It’s bi-directional.”

Gallery: Ways anxiety & depression affect your body (courtesy Redbook) Ways Anxiety & Depression Affect Your Body