The Drug Gap

In recent years, a number of studies have indicated that depression manifests itself differently in women and men. While most depressed people experience a loss of appetite, depressed women are more likely to have increased appetite or weight gain, or at the other extreme, suffer from eating disorders, such as bulimia. Overall, women's first episodes of depression start earlier and they tend to have worse symptoms. Depression in women can also appear at specific points along the reproductive continuum, such as during or after a pregnancy.  The severity of symptoms can also rise and fall over the course of a menstrual cycle, Kornstein said. "Some women only become suicidal when they're premenstrual," she said.

Researchers are hoping these new findings encourage physicians to get more detailed medical histories from their female patients before they prescribe treatment, Kornstein said. "We think they should be asking about women's reproductive status, their menopausal status, whether they are taking hormone therapy, all of which are questions they generally don't ask now." They also hope these results will encourage patients to consider other medications, if the first one or two they try don't prove to be effective.

As more research is done into depression, researchers expect that many more specific subtypes of the disease will be identified over time. Studies into the role of gender can only help speed those discoveries along.

For more information about how depression affects women, check out these Web sites:

• National Institute of Mental Health
• Mayo Clinic
• National Women's Health Information Center
• Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance
• National Alliance for the Mentally Ill
• MGH Center for Women's Mental Health
• U of Michigan Depression Center

© 2008