Browsing by Author "Weckström, Tarja"

Objectives: Depression presents one of the biggest global health concerns today. According to the network theory, mental disorders, such as depression, reflect co-occurring intercorrelating symptom effects. Thus, studying the properties of depressive symptom networks could enhance knowledge about the etiology of depression. In this study, network structures of men and women of the general population are compared, to enhance understanding of higher prevalence rates of depression in women. Although gender differences of depression are widely studied, this is the first study comparing the depressive symptom network structures of adult men and women in the general population. Methods: The data (n = 567 men; n= 886 women) are from a national age cohort study (LASER). Partial correlation networks of BDI-II symptoms were compared in two time-points. Results: Estimated networks had distinct gender differences. Men had lower mean scores, but more changes in the network structure across time, more negative edges, and higher network density. “Agitation” was highly central only in the men’s networks. Women showed changes in mean sum scores, but network structures had few changes, and symptoms formed three distinct communities in both time-points. “Fatigue” was reported significantly more by women and was highly central only in the women’s networks. Implications: Differences in symptom networks between men and women may explain the gender-related differences in the prevalence of depression. Negative edges in the men’s networks and the symptom communities in the women’s networks are targets for more research. Fatigue could be a valuable target for preventing and treating women’s depression.