Oklahoma Ranks High In Depression

Thursday, November 29th 2007, 11:35 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A new national report calls Oklahoma one of the most mentally depressed states in the country. Authors of the Mental Health America Report, released Wednesday, based their findings on the state's high suicide rate and a high number of residents in what it called â€œserious psychological distress.'â€

Oklahoma, which had 509 suicides in 2005, ranks 46th of the 50 states and District of Columbia in residents who suffer from depression. The national study found 13.3% of Oklahomans age 18 and older had â€œserious psychological distressâ€ in the past year, and 8% of Oklahoma's adult population experienced â€œmajor depressive episodesâ€ in the past year.

The report was written by the non-profit National Mental Health Association and was supported through a grant from Wyeth Pharmaceuticals.