Depression in Europe - who are the gloomiest ?

Depression is common in later life but different studies in different countries produce different prevalence rates for the condition. A study of 22,777 people in ten different European countries (not including the UK) used the Euro-D questionnaire which was specifically designed to be used in a wide variety of different languages and cultures. Even after all the other factors had been taken into account France, Italy and Spain had the highest rates of depression. Women were more likely to suffer from mood problems while older people and those with poor verbal fluency were more likely to have problems with motivation.

Castro-Costa, E. .... [et al] - Prevalence of depressive symptoms and syndromes in later life in ten European countries : the SHARE study British Journal of Psychiatry November 2007, 164, 393-401