Mood disorders

The annual prevalence of bipolar disorders among U.S. adults is 2.8% (an estimated 7 million people).³ It is typically diagnosed during late adolescence or early adulthood, though symptoms can occasionally appear in children. While symptoms may vary over time, bipolar disorders usually require lifelong treatment; if left untreated, the illness usually worsens. People with a bipolar disorder are at an increased risk of suicide,⁴ and the risk of suicide is significantly higher among those bipolar I disorder than among the general population.⁵ Additionally, individuals are more likely to suffer from many age-related conditions and die earlier due to unnatural and natural causes.⁶

Approximately 80 to 90% of individuals with a bipolar disorder have a relative with a bipolar disorder or depression.⁷ Environmental factors such as stress, sleep disruption, and substance use may trigger mood episodes in vulnerable people.⁸ The illness can cause severe disruptions in a person’s daily life and create stressful family situations.

Depression is a common mental disorder that affects approximately 280 million people worldwide.⁹ It affects individuals differently and can be experienced as a single-episode disorder or as recurring episodes throughout their life. When depression is recurrent, it can become a serious health condition and affect the person’s daily life and function, and can even lead to suicide.

The evidence is compelling that individuals with depression are less well off than individuals without depression in terms of overall health and function. Depression causes societal costs in healthcare expenditures and productivity that require structured programming aimed at identification, education, and intervention to reduce the incidence of depression and its associated conditions.

Postpartum depression affects approximately one in eight women.¹¹ Undiagnosed and untreated, depression places women at increased risk for illness and interpersonal and psychosocial difficulties. In addition, children of mothers with postpartum depression are at a greater risk for cognitive, emotional, developmental, and verbal deficits and impaired social skills.¹²