House Passes GOP Healthcare Bill, Girls Twice As Likely To Be Depressed

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• House GOP Passes Healthcare Bill In Close Vote

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  In a 217-213 vote in the House, the Republican plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act is one step closer to reality. We’ll speak with Kelsey Snell of the Washington Post about the news.

• Girls And Women Have Higher Rates Of Depression Worldwide

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  A new study finds that women and girls have higher rates of depression compared with men. The study also finds that girls display symptoms of depression as young as 12-years-old. We speak with University of Wisconsin Psychology Professor Janet Hyde about her study.

• Girls, Women Twice As Likely To Suffer From Depression

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  For years, scientists have believed women suffer from depression more frequently than men.

  But new research from a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor found the gender gap begins much earlier than once believed, breaking away between boys and girls as young as 12.

  “That age 12 is really cause for concern,” said Janet Hyde, co-author of the study and professor of psychology and women’s studies at UW-Madison. “Because we need to learn what it is that causes girls to be more depressed than boys at such an early age.”

  The analysis was sweeping. It combined data from multiple studies, including millions of people from 90 different nations.

  Hyde said the results were unexpected. Previous studies had identified the gap beginning much later, as late as age 16. She said the new findings may help scientists identify the reason behind such a drastic gender gap.

  “Because it starts at age 12, you wonder if something about puberty has to do with causing the difference,” Hyde said. “It tells you when you want to intervene, because you want to launch those interventions before the gender difference emerges.”

  The study also found that twice as many women as men are affected by depression, confirming conventional wisdom.

  Despite the findings, Hyde said it’s important to avoid stereotyping depression as a “female problem.” After all, men still make up one-third of those affected by the depression.

  “It could lead to underdiagnosis for men,” Hyde said.

  Her takeaway from the study: more should be done to combat depressin before it starts.

  “There are many pathways to depression in adolescence and adulthood,” she said. “We need to hone in on those … so that we can catch them before they become depressed and give them coping skills, ways of thinking that can help them combat any tendencies towards depression.”