Introduction: Women and Depression

One of the most consistent findings on the prevalence of mental disorders is that depression is at least twice as common in women as in men. Although absolute rates WOMEN AND DEPRESSION of depression vary over the life span, the relative difference in rates of depression between women and men is maintained throughout life. Yet, despite the clarity of these empirically derived results, understanding sex differences in the etiology, treatment, and prevention of depression has not been a major focus of research.