The Economic Burden of Adults with Major Depressive Disorder in the United States (2019)

Summary & key facts

Researchers estimated how much major depressive disorder (MDD) cost adults in the United States in 2019. They used national survey data and published studies to count how many adults had MDD and how much extra money was spent because of it. They found about 19.8 million adults had MDD and the extra costs to society were very large, around $334 billion in 2019 dollars, or about $17,000 for each person with MDD. The costs were not just medical bills. Lost work, problems in households, and other effects added up. The authors also ran a simulation showing that a new treatment that works faster and helps half of people early on could lower the overall economic burden by about 7.7 percent in one year, but that result is hypothetical and depends on many assumptions.

Key facts:

• About 19.8 million adults in the United States were estimated to have major depressive disorder in 2019.
• The study estimated the extra economic burden of MDD at about $334 billion in 2019 dollars, which is about $382 billion when adjusted to 2023 dollars.
• That comes to roughly $17,000 in extra societal costs for each adult with MDD in 2019.
• Women made up about 63 percent of the adults with MDD, and about one third of people with MDD were classified as having severe symptoms.
• The biggest pieces of the cost were healthcare bills at about $127 billion, costs to other adults in the household at about $80 billion, reduced productivity while at work (called presenteeism) at about $43 billion, and missed work days (absenteeism) at about $38 billion.
• To make these estimates, researchers combined survey answers, published cost studies, and a method that calculates per-person extra costs and then multiplied those by the number of people with MDD.
• In a simulated scenario, a hypothetical new treatment that produced an early response in half of treated people was associated with a 7.7 percent drop in the overall economic burden over 12 months compared with current care, but that was only a model and not a clinical test.

Abstract

The economic burden of MDD is substantial and extends beyond healthcare costs, underscoring the impact of MDD across multiple aspects of life. Such a broad societal perspective should be considered in assessing the impact of the advent of effective, rapid-acting MDD therapies.

Topics

Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum Mental Health Treatment and Access Treatment of Major Depression

Categories

Health Sciences Medicine Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

Tags

Absenteeism Accounting Business Demography Economic cost Economic impact analysis Economics Environmental health Gerontology Indirect costs Major depressive disorder Medicine Microeconomics Mood Neoclassical economics Presenteeism Psychiatry Psychological intervention Psychology Social psychology Sociology

Conditions & symptoms

Depression Lack of energy or motivation Poor sleep Sadness or low mood