Men More Prone to Depression During Recession, Says Study

he U.K.'s BBC online reported Monday that men are more likely to suffer mental health problems than women during an economic slump. According to a survey of 2,000 adults by British mental health charity Mind, "almost 40 percent of men feel low at the moment with job security, work and money playing on their minds." 

The charity said that some 2.7 million men in England suffer mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, or stress but they were more reluctant to talk about them than women. Only 29 percent of the men surveyed responded that they talk about their problems with friends and family while 53 percent of women do so. 

The recession could worsen the situation, with study finding one in seven men suffer depression within six months of losing their jobs. Paul Farmer, chief executive at Mind, said, "Being a breadwinner is something that is still crucial to the male psyche, so if a man loses his job he loses a large part of his identity, putting his mental well-being in jeopardy."