Each year, 10 percent of American adults -- more than 18 million people (age 18 and older) -- suffer from major depressive illness.1 While major depressive disorder can develop at any age, the average age at onset is the mid-20’s.2
	According to the U.S. Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, depression is twice as prevalent among women then in men (12% vs. 6.6%). In fact, one in five women can expect to develop clinical depression during their lifetime.3
	According to the National Association of Mental Illness, 80 to 90 percent of those suffering from serious depression can be effectively treated and return to their normal daily activities and feelings within weeks of either beginning medication, psychotherapy, attending support groups, or a combination of these treatments.4
	Research indicates that only one-third of those with major depression will receive proper treatment; and if left untreated, an episode of depression can last for months, years, or a lifetime.5
	Depression is a chronic and recurrent illness. Fifteen to 30 percent of individuals with major depression do not fully recover from a given episode. In addition, 50 to 80 percent of people who experience one episode will experience another usually within two to three years.6
	Up to two-thirds of those with any kind of affective disorder who do receive treatment will be misdiagnosed. According to the World Health Organization, nearly 70 percent of patients with mental health problems often complain of physical symptoms such as sleeplessness, vague aches and pains, and fatigue rather than mood symptoms. Anxiety, a common symptom of depression, may affect more than 80 percent of depressed individuals.7
	The economical impact of major depression is as great as AIDS or heart disease. Depression’s annual toll on U.S. businesses amounts to $70 billion in medical expenditures, lost productivity, and other costs.8
	Depression is currently the leading cause of disability in the U.S. and worldwide.10 In fact, the Global Burden of Disease, a landmark project orchestrated by the World Health Organization, the Harvard School of Public Health, and the World Bank, estimates that by 2020 depression will be the second most burdensome illness in the world.
	Depression can be a killer. According to the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, 15 percent of people identified as suffering from depression commit suicide. In the U.S., depression related suicide is the third leading cause of death among adolescents, and the seventh leading cause among adults.
	Depression is an illness not generally understood by the public. According to the National Depressive and Manic-Depressive Association, very few people are aware of the cause of depression. Scientific research has firmly established that major depression is a biological brain disorder.11
	Several new strategies and new classes of drugs to treat depression are now available.
	1 Narrow WE. One-year prevalence of depressive disorders among adults 18 and over in the U.S.: NIMH ECA prospective data. Population estimates based on U.S. Census estimated residential population age 18 and over on July 1, 1998. Unpublished. 2 American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders, fourth edition (DSM-IV). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press, 1994. 3 “Facts on Clinical Depression and Women,” National Mental Health Association. www.nmha.org Alexandria, VA. Accessed 2002. 4 “Depression Facts,” National Institute of Mental Health. www.nimh.nih.gov Bethesda, MD. 1998. Accessed 2002. 5 “Depression: Effective Treatments are Available,” National Institute of Mental Health. Bethesda, MD. 6 American Journal of Psychiatry, Vol. 150:4, April 1993 Supplement. 7 Psychiatric Services. 1996; Vol. 47, 318-319. 8 “Economic Impact of Depression,” National Depressive and Manic-Depressive Association. www.ndmda.org. Accessed 2002. 10 Murray CJL, Lopez AD, eds. Summary: The global burden of disease: a comprehensive assessment of mortality and disability from diseases, injuries, and risk factors in 1990 and projected to 2020. Cambridge, MA; Published by the Harvard School of Public Health on behalf of the World Health Organization and the World Bank, Harvard University Press, 1996. 11 “Major Depression Fact Sheet,” National Association for the Mentally Ill. www.nami.org. Arlington, VA. Accessed 2002.

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