LOS ANGELES — Depression can look very different in men and women. And many of its hallmarks — rage, risk-taking, substance abuse and even workaholism — can hide in plain sight.

Now researchers say that when these symptoms are factored into the diagnosis, the long-standing disparity between depression rates in men and women disappears.

That conclusion overturns long-accepted statistics that indicate women, over their lifetimes, are 70 percent more likely than men to have major depression. In fact, when its symptoms are properly recognized in men, major depression may be even more common in men than in women, according to a study published Wednesday by the journal JAMA Psychiatry.

The findings help unravel a mystery that has long puzzled mental health authorities: If men are so much less likely than women to be depressed, why are they four times more likely to commit suicide?

“When it comes to depression in men, to some extent we have blinders on,” said Dr. Andrew Leuchter, a psychiatrist who studies depression at UCLA. “We have not been asking about and taking into account a range of symptoms that may be gender-specific.”

In addition to familiar depression symptoms such as sadness, difficulty sleeping, feelings of guilt or worthlessness and loss of interest in pleasurable activities, the researchers expanded the list to include anger attacks, aggression or irritability, substance abuse, risk-taking behavior and hyperactivity.

The researchers tested these diagnostic criteria in a group of nearly 5,700 American adults who had been interviewed as part of a long-term study of mental health organized by researchers at Harvard Medical School; 41 percent of the participants were men.