Changes in gender roles may be causing more men to suffer from depression. Further studies would be required to prove this but the notion is suggested by two researchers at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital in Scotland. Dr Polash Shajahan and Dr Jonathan Cavanagh write in the current British Medical Journal about their study into depression in men and women in Scotland. They examined incidence by gender between 1980-1995, noting increased male hospital admissions for depression but falling numbers for women, even though overall the total number of women admitted was far higher than for men. The authors question whether this trend is a true reflection of prevalence or whether it was affected by admission criteria. They noted the changes in gender roles including a decreasing number of men in full time employment and an increasing number of women in part time and full time work. Loss of status as sole financial provider for the family, the perceived loss of social status and the consequent social isolation of men could all be risk factors for depression, they suggest.