Prevalence and Incidence

• Depression affects about 9.5% of Americans'19 million people'in a given year¹.

Morbidity and Mortality

• About 60% of people who commit suicide have had a mood disorder, including major depression, bipolar disorder, or dysthymia².
• The World Health Organization estimates that depression will be the second leading cause of disability worldwide by 2020³.

Cost

• The financial costs of depression among the working population are estimated at over $43 billion per year⁴.

Measures

The NHQR tracks four measures for clinical depression, including two measures of appropriate antidepressant medication treatment, one measure of practitioner contactⁱ, and the national suicide rate. This section highlights both measures of medication treatment quality for adults:

• Receipt of antidepressant medication treatment during acute phase (i.e., first 3 months following initial diagnosis)
• Receipt of antidepressant medication treatment through continuation phase (6 months) of treatment

ⁱThis report does not focus on optimal practitioner contacts for medication management because the measure specifications are changing this year.