Women more prone to depression than men; and Indians are worst hit by the disease, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in its report.

According to the WHO report "Depression and Global Crisis," women are 50 per cent more burdened by depression than men, and that the mental condition is two to three times more common in women.

Indians are among the most depressed people of the world. A study carried out the global health organization revealed that nearly 9 per cent of Indians suffer from an extended period of depression during their lifetime, while a whopping 36 per cent suffer from the condition called MDE (major depressive episode).

MDE sufferers experience utter sadness, loss of pleasure, feelings of low self worth or guilt, lack of appetite and sleep, poor concentration and low energy levels, besides feeling depressed.

While average age of depression in China and the United States is 18.8 years and 22.7 years respectively, in Indians is has been recorded at 31.9 years.

Depression is estimated to affect as many as 350 million people, and 1 million people commit suicide every year, which works out to 3,000 suicides per day.

A separate study said, "People suffering from Depression keep on suffering and may prove fatal as it interfere with our day to day life, as one stop taking interest in work, studies, sleep and other activities."

WHO has ranked depression as the fourth leading cause of disability globally, and warned that the mental condition could become the second leading cause of world disability by 2020, and the biggest contributor to disease burden by 2030.