The Burden of Major Depressive Disorder: Setting the Stage for Managed Care

Welcome back to another AJMC Peer Exchange series. In this episode titled, "The Burden of Major Depressive Disorder: Setting the Stage for Managed Care," Ken Cohen led the conversation about the following question:

Can you briefly set the stage in terms of how prevalent is major depressive disorder (MDD) in the U.S., what is the patient and economic burden, and why does it matter to the managed care audience in this room?

Greg Rhee highlighted that MDD affects approximately 21 million U.S. adults, or 1 in 12, annually, with roughly 14.5 million experiencing a severe depressive episode with functional impairment. He detailed the condition's substantial patient burden — spanning sleep, concentration, energy, and social functioning — alongside an estimated $382 billion in annual societal economic burden. Rhee emphasized that MDD is a population-scale condition affecting total cost of care beyond behavioral health spending alone, and that untreated, inadequately treated, or treatment-resistant patients represent a significant opportunity to improve outcomes and value for the healthcare system.

Throughout the conversation, the experts provided a comprehensive reflection on the field and the factors that may shape how clinicians approach care moving forward.

In the next episode, "Remission vs. Response: Redefining Treatment Goals in Major Depressive Disorder," panelists continue their discussion on major depressive disorder and highlight how clinical heterogeneity shapes individualized treatment goals, STAR*D data on inadequate antidepressant response, and how atypical antipsychotics fit into the switch-versus-augment treatment algorithm.