Depression strikes worst in middle age, claims study

PEOPLE are most likely to feel depressed in middle age, according to new research out yesterday.

Experts found that happiness and depression follows a U-shape over a person’s lifetime, with the happiest times being at the start and end of life.

During the middle years, people are more likely to feel depressed, with the peak age for depression being about 44, they discovered.

Meanwhile, pensioners can experience the same degree of happiness at 70 as youngsters aged 20.

Researchers from the University of Warwick and Dartmouth College in New Hampshire in the United States analysed data from two million people from more than 70 nations.

They found an extraordinarily consistent pattern across the countries in terms of depression and happiness levels.

People tended to have higher happiness levels towards the start and end of their life, they discovered.

Many previous studies of the life-course have suggested that psychological well-being stays relatively flat and consistent as we age.

Using a sample of a million people from Britain, the researchers discovered that for both men and women, the probability of depression peaks at about 44 years of age.