Researchers claimed that when symptoms of depression like rage, risk-taking and substance abuse are factored into a diagnosis the disparity between depression rates among men and women disappears, according to study released Wednesday.
The study which was published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry overturns the long-accepted statistics claiming that women are 70% more likely to experience depression than men.
However, the study confirmed that when symptoms of depression are properly recognized in men, major depression may be even more common among men than women.
The study was also used to help shed light on a mystery questioning the statistics that if men were less likely to experience depression than women, how come they commit suicide four times more than women?
"When it comes to depression in men, to some extent we have blinders on. We have not been asking about and taking into account a range of symptoms that may be gender specific," said Dr. Andrew Leuchter, a psychiatrist who studies depression at the University of California Los Angeles.
Health policy researchers from the University of Michigan and Vanderbilt University tested the feasibility of two new checklists that can help diagnose depression in men and women with greater accuracy.
The researchers expanded their list of familiar depression symptoms and included anger attacks, aggression or irritability, substance abuse, risk-taking behavior and hyperactivity.
"These findings could lead to important changes in the way depression is conceptualized and measured," said the study authors.
