News of 48-year-old Chinese American singer CoCo Lee, who died at the hospital after a suicide attempt left her in a coma on July 5, shocked the world. Ms. Lee’s suicide has once again aroused widespread attention to the effects of depression.
According to World Health Organization statistics, nearly 1 billion people worldwide suffered from depression in 2019—14 percent of those were adolescents. Suicides caused by depression account for more than 1 percent of deaths, of which 58 percent occur before age 50. Women are about 50 percent more likely to commit depression-led suicide than men.
In the first COVID-19 year, the global prevalence of anxiety and depression increased by a massive 25 percent. In addition, depression is also a leading cause of disability. People with severe mental health problems die on average 10 to 20 years earlier than the general public….