February 13, 2008 – People in their 40s are more likely to be depressed, according to a study carried out in 80 countries by British and American researchers.
According to the results of surveys conducted over several decades, the risk of suffering from depression is highest around the age of 44, for both men and women.
Psychological well-being follows a “U” curve, the researchers found. The twenties would be a happy time. Then, the psychological well-being would decline gradually until the quarantine, to finally go back to the dawn of the golden age. At 70 years old, healthy people would generally have a psychological well-being comparable to that of 20-year-olds.
This trend was observed in 72 of the 80 countries assessed, for both men and women, married or single, rich or poor. The eight countries where a relationship between age and psychological well-being has not been established are mostly developing countries.
According to the study’s authors, people in their 40s suffer more from depression because they realize that they may not achieve many of their aspirations. However, as they see people of their generation disappearing around them, they realize how lucky they are to have good years to live and they smile back to life.
Claudia Morissette – HealthPassport.net
According to Reuters.
1. Blanchflower, DG, Oswald AJ., Is Well-being U-Shaped over the Life Cycle? Coming soon in the journal Social Science & Medicine.
