Abstract

We examined suspected risk factors for depression among adults ages 18-44 years. The subjects, selected by probability sampling for a multisite collaborative study, were interviewed at baseline and again at follow-up after one year. The risk of major depression was higher for women as compared with men (RR = 1.5), and for the maritally separated or divorced versus all other adults (RR = 1.9), but at lower levels for employed men and women as compared with the unemployed (RR = 0.6). Sex and marital separation or divorce also were associated with increased risk of a less specific and severe depressive syndrome; working for pay was associated with lower risk. In addition, risk of the depressive syndrome was lower for Hispanic Americans versus all other persons (RR = 0.3), and there was an important interaction of age and sex. With increasing age, women were at increasingly higher risk for the depressive syndrome, as compared with men. Finally, the risk of simple depression was higher for women than for men (RR = 1.8), but was not strongly associated with other suspected risk factors under study once sex was taken into account.