Why are women more prone to depression?

Depression is more than just feeling sad, it’s a common but serious mood disorder that affects the way people feel, think and act.

About 280 million people in the world live with this disease, according to the World Health Organization.

According to experts, women are usually twice as likely to suffer depression against men, because of genetic factors, biologicalas well as psychological and social related to life experiences.

“When we talk about depression, we’re not talking about the usual mood swings or emotional reactions we give to everyday problems. We mean disease which can become a serious health problemif it extends for a long time, it can cause a change from suffering family dynamicswork and social, and even lead to suicide“, says Dr. Carlos Cano, medical director of internal medicine at Pfizer Central America and the Caribbean (CAC).

factors

In the genetic line, this suffers It can occur when it is present in a person’s family, whether it is father, mother or siblings.

While in terms of biological factors, the stage of puberty in women stands out, during which hormonal changes can increase the risk of depression, along with other aspects such as determining their identity, academic pressure or in sports practice and problems with parents.

It also includes premenstrual dysphoric disorder, which is a serious condition that causes various symptoms (anger, suicidal thoughts, changes in appetiteswelling, joint or muscle pain, and even breast tenderness) and can cause women to interrupt or be unable to exercise from daily tasks to studying or interacting with others while their period is passing.’

“When we talk about depression, we are not talking about the usual changes in mood or emotional reactions that we give to everyday problems. We are thinking about an illness that can become a serious health problem if it spreads over a long period of time and which, due to suffering, can change family, work and social dynamics and even lead to suicide,” Dr. Carlos Cano, medical director of internal medicine at Pfizer for Central America and the Caribbean (CAC).

But that’s not all, emphasizes the perinatal depressionwhich can affect women and during pregnancy like after this.

Mothers with this type of depression develop extreme sadness, fatigue, low self-esteem, or feelings of being a bad mother. anxiety, Sleep problems and even thoughts of harming themselves or the child, among other things. It is estimated that postpartum depression occurs in 10% to 15% of women.

Perimenopausal depression is another that can occur when women transition into menopause. During this phase, hormone levels fluctuate erratically and this, along with anxiety, disrupted sleep, feeling the onset of menopause at an earlier age than usual, life events and weight gain, among others, can trigger this type of depression.

remember

Depression usually worsens if not treated in time, causing other behavioral problemshealth and even emotional, for example, inappropriate drug or alcohol consumption, social phobias, panic disorders, isolation and being overweight or obese, which can even cause other conditions such as diabetes and heart disease.

According to the WHO, depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide and contributes global burden of disease.