HKU study finds depression doubles overall mortality risk, urges early treatment

People living with depression face a mortality risk twice as high as those without the condition, and a suicide risk nearly ten times greater — but timely and effective treatment can significantly improve survival rates, according to a landmark global study led by the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Hong Kong.

The large-scale meta-analysis, the most comprehensive of its kind to date, reviewed 268 cohort studies covering data from more than 10 million people with depression and nearly 2.8 billion control subjects across countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Singapore, and South Korea.

Researchers found that the risk of death among people diagnosed with depression fluctuates considerably over time, peaking within the first 180 days after diagnosis — when the mortality rate is about 11 times higher than that of non-depressed individuals.

The finding underscores the critical importance of early detection and intervention.

The study also revealed significant differences across depression subtypes. Patients with psychotic features were found to have a 61 percent higher risk of death compared with those without such symptoms, while individuals with treatment-resistant depression had a 27 percent higher risk.

Age and gender were also key factors. For women under 25, the overall mortality risk was around six times higher than that of their non-depressed peers. Meanwhile, suicide risk among those under 25 and over 60 was found to be tenfold and thirteenfold higher, respectively.

However, the study emphasized that effective treatment can dramatically lower mortality rates.

The use of antidepressant medication was associated with a roughly 20 percent reduction in overall mortality, while patients who received neurostimulation or neuromodulation therapies experienced a nearly 30 percent reduction.

For individuals with co-existing physical illnesses, antidepressants proved even more beneficial, lowering the risk of death by up to 30 percent.