One in three Italians fears depression but one in four underestimates the illness and one third of sufferers do not receive adequate treatment, according to a report by the National Observatory on Women's Health (ONDA) our Wednesday.
The survey of 1,004 respondents showed that depressed people wait two years on average before seeking treatment.
Those diagnosed with depression said trauma (69%) and stress (60%) were the triggers that set it off, and that its main symptoms are negative thoughts 69%), loneliness (67%) and sadness (63%).
"Depression will be the most common chronic illness by 2030 according to the World Health Organization (WHO)," said ONDA President Francesca Merzagora.
Currently in Italy 4.5 million people suffer from depression, most of them women, Merzagora said.
Battered women and pregnant women, especially migrants and asylum seekers, are the most at risk of falling ill with depression, the data showed.
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