The Prevalence of Major Depressive Episodes Is Higher in Urban Regions of Canada

What is it about?

Evidence has been mixed about whether major depression is more common in urban than rural settings. Prior studies may have lacked power to detect important differences. This study had a much larger sample size than previous ones due to pooling of data from multiple surveys. It confirmed an 18% higher prevalence in urban areas.

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Why is it important?

These results mean that service planning should take into account the higher prevalence in urban settings - they need more services. Hypotheses about etiology are also generated by this study - is the higher prevalence due to a higher risk of depression, more negative prognosis, lower mortality or in-migration.