Teenage Depression Statistics

Q: 17.5 million Americans suffer from Depression and spend billions each year on pharmaceuticals om am attempt to handle the problem. Now researchers say the cause may lie in toxic build up from the environment Depression is a growing problem across America. Some reports state that 17.5 million Americans suffer from depression and the statistics on teen depression are even more sobering.

A:According to one Surgeon General’s report one in ten children may have a serious emotional problem People with severe depression have a reported suicide rate as high as 15%, making it potentially the number one cause of suicide in the United States. Americans end up spending billions of dollars on ineffectual and harmful pharmaceuticals to handle depression. Researchers are finding evidence that the cause may be the increasing chemical build-up in our bodies. The University Pathology Consortium, a not-for-profit academic consortium founded and owned by medical school departments of 6 leading Universities including Stanford, recently attributed some of the symptoms of depression to the effects of medication, drug abuse and exposure to toxins. “Environmental toxins have increased so much over the last 50 years and are now found in everything from grit on the ground to the make up a woman uses to powder her nose,” says Dr Harry Wong, the Director of Alternative Medicine at the Physicians

Plus Medical Group in the San Francisco Bay area. “Pesticides, toxic mold and harsh chemicals have all become prevalent in our country and toxic chemicals are used in our homes.” Dr. Wong and his colleagues follow the latest research and treat their patients complaining of depression by looking for underlying reasons, like toxic overload in the system. Even common pesticides used in homes and lawns are now being shown to accelerate aging of the immune and nervous system resulting in serious health problems years after exposure. “We often see patients who have feelings of depression and one of the first things we suspect is an environmental influence.”