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Epidemiology
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The epidemiology of recurrent depressive and bipolar affective disorders are summarised in the table below.
Recurrent Depressive Disorder |
Bipolar Affective Disorder |
|
Sex ratio (M:F) |
1:2 |
equal |
Social class |
greater in lower socio-economic class |
no social class differences |
Prevalence |
male = 2-3%; female = 2-9% |
less than 0.3% |
Lifetime risk |
male = 10%; female = 20% |
1% |
Age |
onset - 50% before the age of 40 years |
both onset and peak age is in the late 20's to early 30's |
Other factors |
urban population > rural |
more episodes than for recurrent depression but they tend to be shorter |
It is probably worth while at this point to consider the epidemiology of suicide.
- There are between 4000-8000 deaths in the England and Wales per year (as compared to around 5000 road deaths).
- There are in excess of (probably greatly) 150 000 attempted suicides per year.
- 15% of those with depression die by suicide.
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