A case-control study of social risk factors for depression in American patients

Objective: To describe the social risk factors for depression and their interaction with recent life events in depressed American patients. Methods: Forty patients with a major depressive episode were compared with 40 normal controls. Risk factors for depression were assessed, recent life events recorded, and their interaction examined. Results: Significantly more depressed patients than controls had a poor marriage before the onset of depression and were unemployed. The depressed patients had also recently experienced significantly more life events. The only significant interaction was that employed depressed patients had experienced more recent life events than unemployed depressed patients. Conclusion: In addition to recent life events, having a poor marriage and being unemployed may be social risk factors for depression in American patients.