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The number of patients seeking treatment for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) in the Beijing Anding Hospital, which built China's first MDD treatment center in 2006, has been increasing at nearly 20 percent every year, said Wang Gang, the hospital's vice president.

Patients seeking treatment for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) in the Beijing Anding Hospital dance with medical staff at the hospital restaurant. [Photo/The Beijing News]

There is a distinct lack of attention and knowledge concerning MDD among the Chinese people, Wang said. Previous media reports claimed that China has approximately 90 million MDD patients and lacks 400,000 doctors in the field, but Wang doesn't agree with these numbers as there are no official statistics yet.

Nonetheless, he admitted that his hospital has been greatly shorthanded since its establishment.

Of MDD patients, 15 percent to 50 percent may feel sick only once in their life, while 50 percent to 85 percent will relapse, said Wang. The disease will adversely affect the patients' life, and those suffering from this disease are more likely to commit suicide than patients of other illnesses, he said.

Many notable people have talked openly about their battle with depression, including Woody Allen, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Anne Hathaway, Brad Pitt and Princess Diana to name a few. The most recent suicide of a celebrity suffering from depression was Robin Williams, who hanged himself on Aug. 11, 2014 at his home in California. On April 1, 2003, Hong Kong singer, actor and film producer Leslie Cheung leapt from the top of a hotel in Hong Kong with a suicide note saying that he had been suffering from depression.

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