Single people may be about 80% more likely to experience depressive symptoms than married people, according to an analysis of more than 100,000 individuals in 7 countriespublished in Human behavior. It has also been found that the risk of depression among singles, it is higher among men and among those with a higher level of education. The results can help us identify demographic groups at higher risk of depression.
Depression is a major public health problem and approximately 5% of adults worldwide suffer from major depressive disorder. Although previous research suggests that marriage may reduce the risk of depression, These studies generally focus on a single country (often Western). Furthermore, the results of these studies often vary between countries, and the interaction between marital status and other factors, such as variations in socioeconomic status, age and education, is poorly understood.
Kefeng Li and colleagues analyzed individual data from 106,556 participants across 7 countries (US, UK, Mexico, Ireland, South Korea, China and Indonesia) to investigate the phenomenon. Risk of depressive symptoms among married and single people over a follow-up period of 4 to 18 years for a subset of 20,865 individuals. They found that single status is associated with a 79% higher risk of depressive symptoms than married people.
Divorced or separated people had a 99% higher risk of depressive symptoms, and widowed people had a 64% higher risk than married people. Single participants from Western countries (including the United States, United Kingdom and Ireland) had increased risk of depression than their counterparts in Eastern countries (including South Korea, China and Indonesia). This risk was found to be higher in single men than in single women, and in those with a higher level of education than in those with a lower level of education.
Li and colleagues suggest that the lower rates of depression among married couples may be due to exchange of social support within the couplebetter access to economic resources and a positive influence on everyone’s well-being. However, the authors note that a limitation of the study is that the data were collected through self-report questionnaires and not from clinical diagnoses of depression, and that all couples analyzed in this study study were heterosexual.
