Juliette Gagliardi
Junior Researcher
Depression in Europe - Statistics & Facts
The COVID-19 pandemic put depression and other mental issues in the spotlight, as lockdowns, social isolation, and general uncertainties worsened the prevalence of mental health problems. As a result, in recent years, the growth of the rate of depression, especially among young individuals, has taken a toll on Europe’s healthcare systems, lacking budget and providers. Depression, which comprises depressed mood or/and loss of interest or pleasure in activities for extended periods, can affect anyone, regardless of age, gender, or wealth. However, some people are more at risk. As already mentioned, younger individuals are more susceptible to suffering from depression, with 58 percent of people aged between 18 and 29 years in the EU at risk of depression. Moreover, people having financial difficulties have a 30 percent higher risk of depression compared to people with no financial troubles.
Antidepressant consumption
Although depression is quite widespread, it remains difficult to treat, and only up to 60 percent of people achieve remission after being treated with antidepressants. Iceland is the country in Europe with the highest consumption of antidepressants as of 2022, with 157.3 DDD per 1,000 inhabitants. Between 2010 and 2020, except for Denmark, all European countries experienced an increase in the consumption of antidepressants, which varied greatly across countries. Estonia, Latvia, and the UK recorded an increase above 100 percent. The increase in the consumption of antidepressants can be attributed to different reasons, among which are a better recognition of depression and the expansion of the indications treated with this kind of drug.Cost of depression
In 2020, Germany was the European country with the highest spending on antidepressant drugs, with 812 million U.S. dollars, representing 1.4 percent of total pharmaceutical sales. However, the cost of antidepressants is limiting when describing the cost of depression, as therapy costs represent a large share of the direct costs of depression and can be paid by the patients or by the national healthcare system/ insurance, depending on how people access the service. In 2019, it was estimated that the number of hours a worker on minimum wage would need to work to have a one-hour session with a private psychologist in Germany was nine hours. In the case of Romania, this figure totaled 18.65 hours. Those direct costs need then to be added to workplace costs and suicide-related costs to assess the total burden of depression in our society.
