Depressive Disorders

Abstract

Mood disorders are among the most commonly seen psychiatric disorders, occurring in about 20.8% of the general population (lifetime prevalence rate) (Kessler et al., 2005) and up to 37.4% in late life populations (Luppa et al., 2012). They are found among adult, child, and older adult populations and cut across racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups. Mood disorders are costly not only to the individual in terms of emotional suffering and physical distress but also to families (e.g., disrupted household routine and economic burden) and to our society. In fact, in 2017, the World Health Organization reported that depression is now considered to be the most disabling condition in the world, representing the leading cause of disability. Depression is noted to account for 7.5% of all years lived with a disability (WHO, 2017a, 2017b). In addition, of all mental health disorders, mood disorders are responsible for the highest suicide risk in more developed countries (Nock et al., 2008).