"The beliefs of female and male doctors about women and depression are pretty consistent," Jo Parrish, vice president of communications for the Society for Women's Health Research said. "But our survey does reveal a few areas where female doctors may be more in tune with the changes women undergo and the feelings they experience, which is not unexpected."
Male doctors are less likely than their female counterparts to believe that a woman is specifically susceptible to depression during puberty and perimenopause, which are two key times of hormonal transition in a woman's life. However, when it came to beliefs about the risk of depression in women following the birth of a baby or after menopause, there was no difference between male and female doctors.
According to the survey there are areas of agreement that include a belief by 84 percent of both male and female doctors that women are at a higher risk than men are of ever having major depression.
The survey was conducted by the Society for Women's Health Research, which is a Washington, D.C., based advocacy organization.
