CHISINAU, April 7 (Xinhua) -- Depression is becoming a major health problem in Moldova, and as many as 25 percent of the population suffers from different degrees of depression, a local expert told a roundtable meeting on Friday on the occasion of World Health Day.
Depression becomes more spread among children, teens and young people in Moldova, stated Nicolae Rosca, head of the Control and Prevention of Noncommunicable Diseases Division of the Chisinau Public Health Center.
"If no measures are taken at world level during the next few years, depression will rank first. Currently, depression affects 5 percent of the global population," he added.
"Depression affects mainly people aged between 25 and 45. This means that the disease affects young people able to work. It is regrettable that in almost half of the cases, depression is not detected on time and is overlooked," Ghenadie Caraus, associate professor at Chisinau Medical University, was quoted as saying by local IPN news agency.
"Among the factors that cause depression are poverty, serious diseases, social environment of the person, cases of disability, discrimination, unemployment, alcohol and drug abuse," Aurelia Esanu of the Chisinau Health Division told the Round Table.
Esanu warned that according to the estimates of the World Health Organization, depression will be the second cause of disability worldwide by 2020, immediately after cardiovascular diseases.
According to the experts at the Round Table, in Moldova, the number of women who suffer from depression is two times higher than men.
World Health Day has been marked since April 7, 1948. Each year, the day's themes are different and center on an area of concern for the WHO. This year's theme is depression, which affects people of all ages and becomes more accentuated.
