New research from the NYC Health Departments suggests that depression is prevalent among most people living in New York City, The Gothamist reported.

City officials revealed Thursday ahead of Mayor Bill de Blasio's new mental-health initiative, NYC Thrive, that at least one in five adult New Yorkers are likely to experience depression, substance abuse, suicidal thoughts or other psychological disorders. They also found that while more than half a million people are estimated to have depression, less than 40 percent report receiving care for it.

"We have a set of public health issues that affect many people and affect them very deeply," Dr. Gary Belkin, a deputy commissioner of the health department, told Reuters Health. "We know what we're going to be doing, and over the coming weeks you're going to be hearing about it."

According to Reuters Health, an outline of the health initiative, NYC Thrive, is expected to be released by the end of the month by the city's Department Health and Mental Hygiene.

Mayor de Blasio's wife, Chirlane McCray, told The Gothamist earlier this year that the city would be "funneling $386 million into combating mental health problems, one of her signature issues."

"It's always been the elephant in the room, wherever I go," she said. "If it was identified as a public health problem, like the flu or cancer or breast cancer -- any of those things -- we would be saying 'This is a crisis!' And it is a crisis."

In the study, the Health Department noted that mental health disorder is a public health crisis that costs New York City billions of dollars.

City officials said the objective of NYC Thrive is to "establish more comprehensive system to track mental health in children and adults," Reuters Health reported.