4 ms·

What in the world is going on in the Netherlands? Why is this country such an anomaly in terms of reported depression rates?

alwaysinshade 13y ago
Good question - looking at the OECD Better Life Index [1] for the Netherlands: In general, 86% of people in the Netherlands say they have more positive experiences in an average day (feelings of rest, pride in accomplishment, enjoyment, etc) than negative ones (pain, worry, sadness, boredom, etc), more than the OECD average of 80%. Perhaps it's a case of better access to health services, so more people in the Netherlands are able to be diagnosed and treated with depression whereas countries with poor health services and high levels of depression are ultimately under-reported? [1] http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/countries/netherlands/ http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/countries/netherlands/
- gpvos 13y ago
  I don't know; the contrast with Belgium, which despite cultural differences has health services with similar quality, and I imagine has similar awareness, is surprising. However, I have read anecdotal stories that mental health service here in the Netherlands is rather bad compared to other countries. Pressure to perform here may be on the high side, but I can't imagine it's much higher than in the US or Germany.
Ihmahr 13y ago
This is especially strange if you consider that dutch children are among the happiest [1]. Maybe their adulthood is comparatively worse because of their great childhood. [1] http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6360517.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6360517.stm
MrBuddyCasino 13y ago
Yeah, this seems fishy. Wikipedia gives low rates for suicide in Netherlands, which I would expect to be correlated: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Suicide-deaths-per-100000-trend.jpg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Suicide-deaths-per-100000-...

4 ms·

What in the world is going on in the Netherlands? Why is this country such an anomaly in terms of reported depression rates?

by kintamanimatt 13y ago

alwaysinshade 13y ago
Good question - looking at the OECD Better Life Index [1] for the Netherlands: In general, 86% of people in the Netherlands say they have more positive experiences in an average day (feelings of rest, pride in accomplishment, enjoyment, etc) than negative ones (pain, worry, sadness, boredom, etc), more than the OECD average of 80%. Perhaps it's a case of better access to health services, so more people in the Netherlands are able to be diagnosed and treated with depression whereas countries with poor health services and high levels of depression are ultimately under-reported? [1] http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/countries/netherlands/ http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/countries/netherlands/
- gpvos 13y ago
  I don't know; the contrast with Belgium, which despite cultural differences has health services with similar quality, and I imagine has similar awareness, is surprising. However, I have read anecdotal stories that mental health service here in the Netherlands is rather bad compared to other countries. Pressure to perform here may be on the high side, but I can't imagine it's much higher than in the US or Germany.
Ihmahr 13y ago
This is especially strange if you consider that dutch children are among the happiest [1]. Maybe their adulthood is comparatively worse because of their great childhood. [1] http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6360517.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6360517.stm
MrBuddyCasino 13y ago
Yeah, this seems fishy. Wikipedia gives low rates for suicide in Netherlands, which I would expect to be correlated: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Suicide-deaths-per-100000-trend.jpg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Suicide-deaths-per-100000-...