Correlates of Depressive Conditions: A Cross-Country Comparison Based on the Study of Global Aging and Adult Health (SAGE)

Tristan Gorrindo, Georgetown University
Somnath Chatterji, World Health Organization (WHO)
Paul Kowal, World Health Organization (WHO)
Zachary Epstein, Georgetown University
Maxine Weinstein, Georgetown University

Depressive disorders are a leading cause of the burden of disease in middle- and high-income countries. Alleviating the personal suffering and reducing the economic costs and consequences of this group of disorders is a growing concern and focus for intervention. Data from the Study of Global Aging and Adult Health (SAGE) provide an important vehicle for identifying and assessing the characteristics of persons at highest risk. The SAGE data allow a diagnosis of depression based on the ICD-10-DCR and is more closely consistent with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). We examine prevalence of depression based on self-report and on the ICD-10 diagnosis categorized by age, sex, marital status, education, quintiles of income, and self-assessed health. Depression is: more common among women than men; increases with age; higher among the divorced, widowed, or separated than among persons who are currently married or cohabiting; associated with worse self-assessed health.