2006年VOA标准英语-Poor People Are Hit Harder by Depression

By Paige Kollock
Washington, DC
25 January 2006
 
watch Depression report
 
  
  
Research shows that people of lower socioeconomic status are more likely to develop a depressive illness than wealthier people. 

A study by a group of scientists from Harvard Medical School found that low-income people with depression are less likely to respond to treatment than those who have higher incomes.  The study was published in the medical journal, The Archives of General Psychiatry¹, and it analyzed² 248 patients of varying income levels. 

It also found that people with lower incomes are more likely to be suicidal.

In the South African town of Kimberley, where diamonds are plentiful³, but where wealth is scarce, there were so many cases of depression among teenagers that in one month, 150 attempted suicides were reported.

 
Elaine Van der Berg 
  
Elaine Van der Berg works at a counseling service in Kimberley. "I think most of the crisis is financial issues. There are not a lot of work options in Kimberley. Also, recreation facilities and then mostly relationship problems."

Symptoms of depression include loss of interest, poor concentration and forgetfulness, lack of motivation, tiredness, irritability⁴, poor sleep and changes in appetite.

One teen's friend was one of the many who committed suicide in Kimberley because of depression.  She says she feels it too. 

 
Friend committed suicide
  
"I have considered suicide, very much, actually. But then I realized I was being selfish because I've got so many friends around me now that I look after."

Depression is a mental illness that affects millions of people worldwide, but only some are lucky enough to overcome it.   

Sixteen-year-old Jordan Walton is one of them.  She suffered from depression and had suicidal thoughts, until she started taking anti-depressant medication, a remedy that is widely used in America.

 
Jordan Walton
 
  
"Once I was on medication, things just started getting better," she said.

With prices ranging from $39 to $200 per month, not everyone can afford prescription⁵ medications.  For many people without insurance, it is a near-insurmountable cost.

Although the study tested only American subjects, researchers say its conclusions apply to people all over the world. 

And in developing countries, where depression affects about 15 percent of the population, as opposed to roughly 9 percent in the United States, there is often no access to doctors, hospitals or drugs, even if patients can afford them.

1 psychiatry   

n.精神病学，精神病疗法

参考例句：

• The study appeared in the Amercian science Journal of Psychiatry.这个研究发表在美国精神病学的杂志上。
• A physician is someone who specializes in psychiatry.精神病专家是专门从事精神病治疗的人。

2 analyzed   

v.分析( analyze的过去式和过去分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析

参考例句：

• The doctors analyzed the blood sample for anemia. 医生们分析了贫血的血样。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The young man did not analyze the process of his captivation and enrapturement, for love to him was a mystery and could not be analyzed. 这年轻人没有分析自己蛊惑著迷的过程，因为对他来说，爱是个不可分析的迷。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 plentiful   

adj.富裕的，丰富的

参考例句：

• Their family has a plentiful harvest this year.他们家今年又丰收了。
• Rainfall is plentiful in the area.这个地区雨量充足。

4 irritability   

n.易怒

参考例句：

• It was the almost furtive restlessness and irritability that had possessed him. 那是一种一直纠缠着他的隐秘的不安和烦恼。
• All organisms have irritability while alive. 所有生物体活着时都有应激性。

5 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。