People diagnosed with major depression are three times more likely than the general population to commit violent crimes such as robbery, sexual offenses and assault, psychiatric experts said on Wednesday.
In a study based on 47,000 people, the scientists emphasized, however, that the overwhelming majority of depressed people are neither violent nor criminal and should not be stigmatized.
"One important finding was that the vast majority of depressed persons were not convicted of violent crimes, and that the rates . . . are below those for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and considerably lower than for alcohol or drug abuse," said Seena Fazel, who led the study at Oxford University's psychiatry department.