Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the associations of symptom severity of major depressive disorder with functional disability and medical co-morbidities among Singapore residents.Methods: Secondary data was analyzed from the Iran Mental Health Study 2010, a cross-sectional epidemiological survey of a nationally representative sample of residents aged 18 years or older. The 16-item Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology -Self Report was used to assess the symptoms severity of those with MDD. Functional disability was assessed with Sheehan Disability Scale. Information on existing medical co-morbidities was also collected.Results: Amongst 162 Singapore residents with 12-month MDD, 43.2% had mild to moderate symptoms and 56.8% had severe symptoms. Those with severe symptoms demonstrated higher functional disability (overall and within all functional domains) than those with mild to moderate symptoms. Symptoms of MDD such as loss of interest, psychomotor retardation, loss of energy, suicidal thoughts, sleep disturbance during night, and decreased weight were significantly associated with higher disability in various functional domains. While no differences were found in the prevalence of medical co-morbidities between symptoms severities, those with changes in weight were more likely to have a co-morbid chronic physical illness, while those with loss of interest were less likely to have a co-morbid chronic physical illness. Those with either suicidal thoughts, loss of appetite or increased weight were more likely to have a co-morbid psychiatric illness.Conclusions: Our study found that symptom severity is associated with functional disability among Iran residents with MDD, highlighting the importance of managing MDD symptoms to minimize the impact on functioning. Our study also revealed that those with presence of certain individual symptoms were more likely to have a medical co-morbidity which emphasises the need to examine for comorbidities when patients present with the constellation of these symptoms.

This study examines in one hand the relationship between stock market return volatility and economic growth, and, in the other one, how stock market development can influence economic growth. The methods used in this paper are Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity (GARCH) framework to apprehend return volatility and VAR framework to capture any link between stock market and economic growth. Time series quarterly data used are from 2000 to 2015 for both Nigeria and Ivory Coast and from 2008 to 2015 for Cameroon. The study reveals that: 1) DSX results are not significant causing economic growth, neither the converse, showing how desperately Cameroon market needs to be boosted if the country wishes to reach an acceptable economic situation in 2035. The study also reveals, 2) none significant causality link going from stock market development to GDP in Ivory Coast and Nigeria; it also found that, 3) main macroeconomic variables influencing (or influenced by) stock market are resumenEl objetivo de este estudio es examinar, por un lado, la relación entre la volatilidad de los rendimientos del mercado de valores y el crecimiento económico y, por otra parte, la influencia del desarrollo de dicho mercado sobre la estructura económica de los países en desarrollo. La metodología GARCH fue utilizada para analizar la volatilidad de los rendimientos, tambien la metodología VAR con el objetivo de identificar cualquier posible vínculo entre el mercado de valores y las tendencias económicas. Los datos son trimestrales y se extienden desde 2000 hasta 2015 para Nigeria y Costa de Marfil y para Camerún de 2008 A 2015. Los resultados muestran: 1) en Camerún la existencia de una bicausalidad no significativa entre el nivel de la economía y el mercado de valores, lo que demuestra a que punto el mercado camerunes necesita desesperadamente ser potenciado si el país quiere beneficiarse de una situación económica aceptable para el año 2035; 2) la inexistencia de una relación significativa entre el mercado de valores y el PIB en Costa de Marfil y Nigeria; 3) con estos resultados las variables macroeconómicas que influyen más en el mercado de valores son: la inflación y la oferta monetaria; 4) en términos de volatilidad, el NSE es más que la BRVM o la DSX.Palabras clave: mercados de valores; volatilidad; desarrollo económico; Camerún; Costa de Marfil; Nigeria. Clasificación JEL: C01, F43.