This is the most depressed country in Europe. How does yours compare?

France may have had the highest level of depression before the pandemic among European countries, according to a new analysis of a 2019 health survey across the continent.

Analysis by the statistical arm of France’s health and social ministries (DREES) found that the depression rate in France was around 11 percent before the pandemic, which was the highest of any other European country.

The report was based on data from the European Health Interview Survey, which is conducted every six years, and includes around 300,000 people across the European Union, Norway, Iceland and Serbia.

This was the first time DREES used 2019 survey to measure depression and prevalence was assessed based on eight questions from the Patient Health Questionnaire.

The analysis looked at “whether or not a person had suffered from depressive syndromes in the last two weeks based on a number of criteria,” Lisa Troy, study author from the directorate’s research and international studies department, told Euronews Health.

It comes as multiple studies have pointed to a growing mental health crisis in the years since the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly among young people in France and other European countries.

The new DREES report also focused on young people aged 15 to 24 and seniors aged 70 and over.

Jocelyne Caboche, emeritus research director at the Sorbonne University Neuroscience Laboratory (CNRS) of the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), told Euronews Health that while she did not have an explanation France was seeing a “relatively” higher level THE DEPRESSION compared to other countries, it may be due to an “accumulation of elements”.

“While we are relatively well cared for in terms of health and education, significant efforts still need to be made in elder care,” said Caboche, who was not involved in the study.

She added that depression could be improved with better investment in psychiatry and therapeutic innovations.

What factors contribute to depression in European countries?

Overall, the new analysis showed that the highest levels of depression were in northern and western European countries.

But while depression is rare among young people in southern and eastern European countries, it is higher among people aged 70 and over in those countries, the report found.

For example, rates of depression were over 15 percent among older individuals in Portugal, Romania, and Croatia.

Older women were also more depressed than older men, according to the survey data, and older Europeans in poor health were more prone to depression.

With more older Europeans reporting poor health in Eastern and Southern European countries, this may explain the higher prevalence of depression there, the report’s authors said.

“For example, in Croatia or Latvia, where nearly 40 percent of the elderly report poor health, the prevalence of depression is high: 16 percent and 9 percent respectively,” the report’s authors noted.

Being socially isolated and widowed also appeared to influence depression in older individuals.

For young Europeans, the highest rates of depression were in Denmark, Sweden and Finland, followed by Western European countries. Depression among young people was lowest in Eastern and Southern European countries.

“I was struck by the differences between the levels of depression between young and old people in south-eastern (European) countries and vice versa by the idea that young people were very depressed in (Northern European countries) and that it is the only region where, among older people, depression decreased with age,” Troy said.

In countries with higher rates of depression among young people, it was associated with social isolation, lack of professional activity or school attendance, and income level.

Caboche added that social media can also play a role “by promoting harmful social comparisons, concerns about body image, especially among girls, reducing sleep duration and increasing the risks of cyberbullying.”

Poor health among young people also significantly increased the risk of depression by about 32 percentage points, the report found.

He added that EHIS data may have limitations, including differences in questionnaire methods for mental health issues between countries.