Adult Depression Prevalence in California from BRFSS

Survey data tracks the proportion of adults in California ever diagnosed with a depressive disorder. The information originates from the annual California Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (BRFSS), conducted via telephone by California State University, Sacramento under contract from the state's Department of Public Health. The data uses state-specific population denominators from the California Department of Finance.

Use Cases

• Analyze trends in the proportion of adults diagnosed with a depressive disorder over multiple survey years.
• Compare depression prevalence across different demographic groups captured in the BRFSS survey.
• Model the relationship between depressive disorder diagnoses and other health-related risk behaviors reported in the BRFSS.

Strengths

• Data is collected through the established California Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (BRFSS) methodology.
• Survey is conducted annually, providing potential for time-series analysis.
• Data uses California-specific population denominators for accurate state-level estimates.

Limitations

• Data is limited to California only, restricting geographic comparability.
• Relies on self-reported telephone survey responses, which can be subject to recall and response bias.
• Specific row count, column details, and sample size are unknown.

Provenance

Source

California Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (BRFSS).

Collection Method

Annual cross-sectional health-related telephone survey.

Time Range

Annual coverage; specific years not stated.

Freshness

Updated annually; last update recorded in November 2025.

Geography

California, United States.