The Federal citizens feel in comparison to the population of other EU States greater depression burden. This is evident from the new EU health interview survey (Ehis), the Robert Koch Institute published.
Therefore, a depressed emotional state with 9.2 per cent of the respondents in Germany are significantly more likely than the EU average of 6.6 per cent.
The rate in Germany is even with the top of the 25 EU countries that responded to the study: The Federal Republic of Germany has the second highest value after that of Luxembourg (10 percent).
The EU health study
For the health study, a total of more than 254,000 people in the 25 EU member States were contacted and interviewed, among others, depressive symptoms. Such as diminished interest, loss of appetite, sleep disturbances, psychomotor agitation, loss of energy, worthlessness feelings, and concentration problems were looking back at the past two weeks.
Each country got categories for symptoms recommended, could you queries, but according to his own method. Differences in the propensity to Depression in Europe, the authors explain regional peculiarities in education, income, and unemployment. It would add cultural differences – for example, in the case of the stigmatisation of the disease.
In the result, Germany is only the symptoms of a slight depression, well above the EU average. Especially younger German citizens called here frequently symptoms. The severe expression of the disease was in all German citizens with 2.9 percent, which is close to the EU average of 2.5 percent.
Women are more likely to be affected
As in a majority of the other EU-countries, women in Germany (10.8 percent) were more likely to be affected than men (7.6 percent).
This phenomenon is going international discussions, said in the investigation. In addition to biological factors, it is, among other things, the question of whether there is in women a greater accumulation of psycho-social stress factors.
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Possible reasons for the result
The results for Germany, however, could be partly influenced, that here on the topic of Depression to the public is widely discussed, and the sensitivity could be higher than in other EU countries, says the study.
In addition, it could be possible that the respondents are German citizens were more likely to mention mental symptoms. In Germany were selected for the survey between November 2014 and July 2015, approximately 25,000 people aged 15 and over by random samples from registers of residents ‘ registration offices.
Around a quarter of them (27 percent) replied to the questionnaire in writing or online.
In Germany, the Foundation German depression aid does not assume that the tendency to depression increases in General. Rather, the disease of Physicians will be recognized more frequently than in the past. The population was grown in addition, the willingness to seek treatment.
According to the Foundation, developing a 5.3 million Germans between 18 and 79 years in the course of a year, to a persistent depressive disorder (8.2 percent) ends. This number would increase even to children, young people and people over 79 years.
Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa)
*The contribution, “According to a Europe-wide health study: German feel in the EU more frequently depressed” is published by FitForFun. Contact with the executives here.