Publication date: Mar 21, 2025

Depressive disorders (DD) are significant mood disorders with a notable female preference, especially affecting the well-being of women of childbearing age (WCBA). This population with DD was notably associated with severe complications during the perinatal period, leading to unfavourable maternal mortality and morbidity. This study extracted data from the Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) 2021. We analysed the number of cases, calculated the age-standardized prevalence rate, and performed the age-period-cohort (APC) model to estimate prevalence trends and age, period, and cohort effects from 1992 to 2021. From 1992 to 2021, the global number of WCBA with DD surged by 59. 46 %, reaching 121 million cases up to 2021. India, China, and the USA had over 40 million prevalence cases, accounting for 36. 17 % of global prevalence. The global net drift of DD prevalence among WCBA was -0. 13 % per year (95 % CI: -0. 17 % to -0. 09 %). Age effects demonstrated similar patterns that the prevalence risk rose with age. All SDI regions showed unfavourable prevalence risks surging in the period of 2017-2021. The cohort risk of prevalence increased globally in younger generations after the 1987-1996 cohort. Although the overall temporal trend (net drift) presented a downward trend in DD prevalence among WCBA over the past three decades, the prevalence cases had continued to rise with unfavourable period and cohort effects. Since COVID-19 triggered a massive increase in the prevalence of depressive disorders worldwide, there is an urgent need for stakeholders and policy makers to strengthen mental health-care systems.

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Original Article