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Cited by 443Mental Health Treatment and AccessTreatment of Major DepressionChild and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development

Descriptive Epidemiology of Major Depression in Canada

Open access
Patten, Scott B, Wang, Jian Li, Williams, Jeanne VA, Currie, Shawn, Beck, Cynthia A, Maxwell, Colleen J, el-Guebaly, Nady·2006·The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry
DOI 10.1177/070674370605100204
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Abstract

Objective: The Canadian Community Health Survey: Mental Health and Well-Being (CCHS 1.2) is the first national study to use a full version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. For this reason, and because of its large sample size, the CCHS 1.2 is capable of providing the best currently available description of major depression epidemiology in Canada. Using the CCHS 1.2 data, our study aimed to describe the epidemiology of major depression in Canada. Method: All estimates used appropriate sampling weights and bootstrap variance estimation procedures. The analysis consisted of estimating proportions supplemented by logistic regression modelling. Results: The lifetime prevalence of major depressive episode was 12.2%. Past-year episodes were reported by 4.8% of the sample; 1.8% reported an episode in the past 30 days. As expected, major depression was more common in women than in men, but the difference became smaller with advancing age. The peak annual prevalence occurred in the group aged 15 to 25 years. The prevalence of major depression was not related to level of education but was related to having a chronic medical condition, to unemployment, and to income. Married people had the lowest prevalence, but the effect of marital status changed with age. Logistic regression analysis suggested that the annual prevalence may increase with age in men who never married. Conclusions: The prevalence of major depression in the CCHS 1.2 was slightly lower than that reported in the US and comparable to pan-European estimates. The pattern of association with demographic and clinical variables, however, is broadly similar. An increasing prevalence with age in single (never-married) men was an unexpected finding.

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  • Rates of anxiety and PTSD symptoms in the sample are well above those documented in the general population.

    “Rates of anxiety and PTSD symptoms in particular are well above those documented in the general population (Patten et al., 2006; Van Ameringen et al., 2008).”

    From An examination of psychological distress and moral injury in journalists exposed to online harassment (2025) · cites this paper as Patten et al., 2006

    The Results report general-population prevalence of major depression, not anxiety or PTSD symptoms. The Methods mention assessing several anxiety disorders, but the passages found when searching for anxiety and PTSD prevalence provide no rates for either and no basis for the claimed comparison. (LLM, conf=0.76)

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Authors
Patten, S. B., Wang, J. L., Williams, J. V., Currie, S., Beck, C. A., Maxwell, C. J., & el-Guebaly, N.
Affiliations
  • University of Calgary (CA)
  • Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta
Corresponding author
Patten, Scott B
ORCID
Venue
The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2006-02
Volume
51
Issue
2
Pages
84-90
ISSN
  • 0706-7437 (ISSN-L)
  • 1497-0015
DOI
10.1177/070674370605100204
OpenAlex
W2162342909
Cited by
443
References
9
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 16 · 2022: 34 · 2021: 30 · 2020: 20 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 19 · 2017: 21 · 2016: 35 · 2015: 26 · 2014: 29 · 2013: 28 · 2012: 31
FWCI
24.60
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations
  • The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale
  • Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research
  • Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health Treatment and Access
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Treatment of Major Depression
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
Keywords
major depressive disorder, prevalence, Canadian Community Health Survey, Composite International Diagnostic Interview, sex differences, age differences, marital status, unemployment, income, chronic disease, educational attainment, lifetime prevalence
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Canada, Demography, Depressive Disorder, Major, Major Depressive Disorder, Employment, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Time Factors, Prevalence

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