Depression

Depression is so complex a disorder, and often so entangled with other mental and physical conditions, that broad characterizations about gender can be misleading. For example, bipolar disorder affects men and women in equal numbers; women are more likely to have anxiety disorders; and men are far more likely to die by suicide, though women attempt it three times more often.

However, on the grandest scale, depression appears to be about twice as common among women as among men, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.

Genetics, biology, and social factors may all contribute to the disparity, and several theories revolve around the rollercoaster of emotion brought on by changes in sexual hormones, to which men are far less susceptible. According to NIMH research, hormones directly affect the brain chemistry that controls emotions and mood. Men are spared all the estrogen-controlled conditions—premenstrual dysphoric disorder, postpartum depression, menopause—that commonly plague women. Still, most experts hypothesize that depression among men is far higher than statistics imply.

“It’s important not to stereotype a disease like depression” as a female condition, emphasizes Dr. Michelle Riba, professor of psychiatry at the University of Michigan. Riba, a past president of the American Psychiatric Association, notes that men are generally disinclined to pursue professional help even when classic symptoms of depression emerge.

“Men may blow off their feelings, attributing their mood to things like financial difficulties or a bad stock market,” she says. “Family members should not be afraid to encourage their loved ones to seek help.”

A battle, though not a battle of the sexes

It’s interesting to note, as Anne Case and Christina Paxson of Princeton University did in a 2004 paper, that women may be more susceptible to conditions that contribute greatly to suffering—arthritis, headaches, vision problems—but relatively little to mortality. Men, meantime, are the kings of killers, significantly more likely be stricken with deadly illnesses such as cardiovascular disease and COPD.

It’s not a crown that we wear proudly. But as science gains a deeper understanding of how gender affects the onset of disease, men and women alike stand to live longer, healthier lives.