Zócalo Public Square

Depression is the world’s greatest health problem and leading source of human misery. One in four women and one in six men suffer from depression, which has a devastating economic impact since those afflicted often can’t work. Depression is also the strongest risk factor for the world’s 1 million annual suicides—a total that outnumbers deaths from war, natural disasters, and murder. And while new research is identifying the various biological, cognitive, and environmental factors associated with depression and thus offering the promise of progress, the prevalence of the disease grows and it remains hard to treat. UCLA Chancellor Gene Block, National Alliance on Mental Illness policy director Darcy Gruttadaro, and UCLA behavioral geneticist Jonathan Flint, came together at a Zócalo/UCLA panel discussion to examine “How Can We Reverse the Depression Epidemic?” at the National Center for the Preservation of Democracy in downtown Los Angeles.