Mood disorders

Adolescent depression

Per the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), depression is one of the most commonly diagnosed mental disorders in children. In the United States, approximately 2.7 million children have been diagnosed with depression in the last five years, and about 15% of adolescents aged 12 to 17 reported having a major depressive episode.1

Undiagnosed and untreated depression places people at increased risk for illness and interpersonal and psychosocial difficulties. In addition, depression is associated with an increased risk of suicide, which is among the leading causes of death among youth aged 10 to 24 and the second leading cause of death for those aged 10 to 14.2

Adolescent depression resources

Bipolar disorders

The annual prevalence of bipolar disorders among U.S. adults is 2.8% (an estimated 7 million people).3 It is typically diagnosed during late adolescence or early adulthood, though symptoms can occasionally appear in children. While symptoms may vary over time, bipolar disorders usually require lifelong treatment; if left untreated, the illness usually worsens. People with a bipolar disorder are at an increased risk of suicide,4 and the risk of suicide is significantly higher among those bipolar I disorder than among the general population.5 Additionally, individuals are more likely to suffer from many age-related conditions and die earlier due to unnatural and natural causes.6

Approximately 80 to 90% of individuals with a bipolar disorder have a relative with a bipolar disorder or depression.7 Environmental factors such as stress, sleep disruption, and substance use may trigger mood episodes in vulnerable people.8 The illness can cause severe disruptions in a person’s daily life and create stressful family situations.

Bipolar disorders resources

Depression

Depression is a common mental disorder that affects approximately 280 million people worldwide.9 It affects individuals differently and can be experienced as a single-episode disorder or as recurring episodes throughout their life. When depression is recurrent, it can become a serious health condition and affect the person’s daily life and function, and can even lead to suicide.

The evidence is compelling that individuals with depression are less well off than individuals without depression in terms of overall health and function. Depression causes societal costs in healthcare expenditures and productivity that require structured programming aimed at identification, education, and intervention to reduce the incidence of depression and its associated conditions.

Depression resources

Postpartum or Peripartum Depression

Postpartum depression affects approximately one in eight women.11 Undiagnosed and untreated, depression places women at increased risk for illness and interpersonal and psychosocial difficulties. In addition, children of mothers with postpartum depression are at a greater risk for cognitive, emotional, developmental, and verbal deficits and impaired social skills.12

Postpartum depression resources

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1 Center for Disease Control and Prevention: Children’s Mental Health - Anxiety and depression in children: Get the facts (accessed December 2022): cdc.gov.
2 Center for Disease Control and Prevention: Children’s Mental Health - Anxiety and depression in children: Get the facts (accessed December 2022): cdc.gov.
3 National Institute of Mental Health: Bipolar Disorder (accessed December 2022): nimh.nih.gov.
4 World Health Organization: Mental Disorders (accessed December 2022): who.int.
5 American Psychiatric Association: What are Bipolar Disorders? (accessed December 2022): psychiatry.org.
6 International Bipolar Foundation: What is Bipolar Disorder? (accessed December 2022): ibpf.org.
7 American Psychiatric Association: What are Bipolar Disorders? (accessed December 2022): psychiatry.org.
8 American Psychiatric Association: What are Bipolar Disorders? (accessed December 2022): psychiatry.org.
9 World Health Organization: Mental Disorders (accessed December 2022): who.int.
10 Today, we are Carelon Behavioral Health, but when we created this recording, we were Beacon Health Options.
11 Center for Disease Control and Prevention: Reproductive Health, Depression Among Women (accessed December 2022): cdc.gov.
12 American Psychiatric Association: What is Peripartum Depression (formerly Postpartum)? (accessed December 2022): psychiatry.org.