Study finds unmarried people are more likely to suffer from depression | Science, climate and technology news

A new study shows that unmarried people may be about 80% more likely to experience depression than those who are married.

The study found that the risk of depression in unmarried people may be higher among men and those with higher levels of education.

Scientists suggest that the findings may help identify people who are at higher risk of the disease.

The authors suggest that lower rates of depression among married people may be due to couples being able to support each other socially, having better access to economic resources, and having a positive impact on each other’s well-being.

They analyzed data from more than 100,000 people from seven countries, including almost 7,000 from the UK.

Some 222 people participating in the 2007 Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Study (APMS) in the UK reported symptoms of depression.

Of these, 73 were married, 62 were single, 55 were divorced or separated, and 32 were widows.

“Our cross-country analysis suggests that unmarried people may be at greater risk of depression, and any efforts to reduce this risk must take into account the role of cultural context, gender, educational level and substance use,” Kefeng Li of Macau Polytechnic University in Macau. , China and colleagues wrote in the journal Nature Human Behavior.

Divorced or separated people had a 99% higher risk of depression.

The study, which also looked at people in the US, Mexico, Ireland, South Korea, China and Indonesia over a follow-up period of four to 18 years, found that being unmarried was associated with a 79% higher risk of developing depressive symptoms compared with other people. those who are married.

Divorced or separated people were also found to have a 99% higher risk of showing signs of depression.

Meanwhile, those who were widowed had a 64% higher risk than those who were married.

According to the study, unmarried people in Western countries had a higher risk of depression than those in Eastern countries.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 280 million people worldwide suffer from depression, representing about 5% of the world’s adult population.

The authors noted that data were collected from questionnaires and not from clinical diagnoses of depression.

They also said that all the couples analyzed were heterosexual.