Men in late middle age with depressive symptoms are more likely to leave the labor force than men without such symptoms are, according to a new study from the University of Pennsylvania.
Retirement-age women, though they have a greater tendency to work part time or transition to part-time status, are more likely to opt out completely if they suffer even mild, or sub-threshold, symptoms of depression. [continue reading…]

By DAPHNE MERKIN
New York Times, Magazine
Published: September 16, 2007

Here is the question lurking behind the recent news of Owen Wilson’s suicide bid: In a culture that encourages outing everything from incest to pedophilia, is depression the last stigma, the one remaining subject that dares not gossip its name? Does a disclosure about depression, especially from someone who seems to have it all, violate an unspoken code of silence — or, at the least, make us radically uncomfortable with its suggestion of a blithe public face masking a troubled inner life?  Link to read this article

Women and men appear to respond differently to the same biochemical manipulation
Women and men appear to respond differently to the same biochemical manipulation. Major depressive disorder (MDD) is one of the most common mental disorders, and it is also one of the most studied. It is already known that reduced serotonin transmission contributes to the pathophysiology, or functional changes, associated with MDD and most of today’s most popular antidepressants block the serotonin “uptake site”, also known as the transporter, in the brain. It is also known that people with MDD are frequently found to have impaired impulse control. A new study being published in the September 15th issue of Biological Psychiatry now reports on important sex and genetic differences in the way that men and women react to reductions in serotonin function, specifically in terms of their mood and impulsivity. [continue reading…]