How common is persistent depressive disorder/dysthymia?

Kevin Mangelschots·22/07/2025·0 comments

Persistent depressive disorder is relatively common, but often underdiagnosed due to its continuing, low-grade symptoms that many people mistake as part of their personality or life situation.

  • General population (adults)
    • Lifetime prevalence

~3–6%.

    • 12-month prevalence

~1.5%.

  • Children and adolescents
    • Estimated prevalence

~0.5% to 2.5%.

    • PDD in youth often presents as irritability rather than sadness and is easily missed.
  • Global estimates

Worldwide prevalence is slightly lower than in high-income countries, but:

    • Chronic depression (including PDD and treatment-resistant MDD) adds substantially to years lived with disability (YLD).
    • The World Health Organization (WHO) ranks depression (including PDD) as one of the leading causes of disability.

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Kevin

Hi there, I’m Kevin Mangelschots! A little more about myself: - I'm 33 years old. - I’m a registered, licensed, and practicing therapist with a bachelor’s degree in occupational therapy. - Currently practicing at a rehabilitation center located in Belgium. Longtime fitness and gaming enthusiast. - Turned towards psychology, philosophy, mental health, and self-improvement to improve my chronic depression. - My goal is to share evidence-based information with the world that I know is helpful and useful to improve depression and overall well-being. In short, I’m just a guy trying to make sense of the world by thinking about ideas, studying psychology, philosophy, and mental and physical health. I strive to apply my degree in healthcare (occupational therapy) to explain concepts as clearly as possible, based on current research findings.

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