Are women more depressed or just better at getting help?

New research suggests that European women are two-and-a-half times more likely to suffer from depression than men, and twice as depressed as they were in the 70s

Women are two-and-a-half times more likely to suffer depression than men. That is one of the main conclusions of a new study by the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology, published this week.

It should be noted that the figures not only include depression, but also anxiety, insomnia, dementia and Parkinson's disease. According to the research, these illnesses are most likely to strike women between the key reproductive ages of 25-40, when the likelihood of depression can be up to even three or four times more so than men.

Explaining the gender imbalance, Hans Ulrich-Wittchen, one of the authors behind the study, said: "In females, you see these incredibly high rates of depressive episodes at times when they sometimes have their babies, where they raise children, where they have to cope with the double responsibility of job and family." The figures also highlight that women are twice as depressed as in "the 70s and the time before", as Ulrich-Wittchen puts it, which is equally startling.

Women's lives are extremely pressurised now, but are things significantly worse than the 70s or earlier, when being a housewife was the norm? Given the time frame, and the social change that has occurred over the past 40 years, these statistics carry a subtle undertone that women are unable to juggle a successful career with motherhood. Sure it's a challenge, but many women thrive on it. What is genuinely depressing about being a working woman right now is the fact that female executives are unlikely to achieve pay equality until 2109, with a current gender pay gap of £10,546.

Perhaps women are simply better at addressing problem. For better or for worse, another recent study by Platform 51 publicised the fact that one in three women take an antidepressant at some point. Men, it appears, prefer to suffer in silence.

In response to today's news, Paul Farmer, chief-executive of Mind said: "Women are under increased pressure today, often juggling a job, childcare and a busy social schedule, without the time to look after their own wellbeing. However, it's important to recognise that depression can happen to anyone and at any point during their lifetime. Men are just as likely to experience depression as women, but are far less likely to seek help, be diagnosed or receive treatment."

Psychotherapist Philippa Perry says that she has always had more female clients, but doesn't think that or the ECN statistics are much of a guide: "Maybe more help is available than there was in the 70s so more people come forward. I hope that appropriate sadness isn't diagnosed as depression, but it might be. Doctors have more medicines available for depression, so whereas before they may have said 'nothing that joining the Mothers Union and a brisk walk won't cure' because they didn't know what else to say – now they can make themselves feel more competent by prescribing serotonin reuptake inhibitors. But even if I did a survey as to why [women were depressed], I'd only get reasons, and reasons are post-rationalisations of feelings. Feelings cannot be measured and put in tidy boxes."

Do you think depression and associated mental illnesses are genuinely more prevalent among women? If so is this because we have less time to think about our wellbeing? Or are men not being honest about their problems, and doctors more inclined to diagnose depression? Share your thoughts below …