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BackgroundAnxiety and depressive disorders are somewhat masked by features of pregnancy; hence many women are ignorant of them and are untreated.AimTo determine the level of awareness and treatment of anxiety and depression in pregnancy.SettingThe study was carried out at the antenatal clinic of Enugu State University Teaching Hospital, Enugu, Nigeria.MethodThis was a cross-sectional and descriptive study of 200 pregnant women in consecutive attendance of the antenatal clinic using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and a sociodemographic questionnaire.ResultsOf the participants, 23.5% had anxiety and/or depression, 7.5% of them were aware of their condition and only 0.5% of all the participants or 6.7% of those who were aware of their problem received treatment.ConclusionAnxiety and depression are prevalent among pregnant women. Because of overlap of symptoms of anxiety and depression with those of pregnancy, the awareness is very low; hence many of them suffer immensely without treatment.

Background: Alcohol is one of the most commonly abused psychoactive substances in the country. Studies have shown sharp increases in alcohol consumption among Nigerians. This increase is likely to continue because of increased local production and availability of alcohol in the country. Knowledge of the prevalence and pattern of current alcohol use is important considering the public health and socioeconomic effects of alcohol use. Methods: Using a semi-structured questionnaire, we estimated the prevalence of current alcohol use among adults 18 years and older living in urban slums in Enugu South East Nigeria. Current use of alcohol was defined as use of any or all alcohol beverages in the past 4 weeks. The safe limit of alcohol was defined using WHO guidelines. Study duration was 5 months. Results: A total of 1411 individuals were recruited into the study. Males were 658 (46.6%) and females were 753 (53.4%). The overall prevalence of current use of alcohol was 66.7%; males 75.7% and females 58.8% (p < 0.01). The commonest alcoholic beverage consumed was beer 37.1%. The peak age of consumption was 40-49 years followed by 50-59 years. About 8.1% drank alcohol above the generally recommended units per week while 5.2% drank above the safe limit for chronic liver disease. Significant correlates of alcohol intake were increasing age, male gender, having a job, cigarette smoking and the use of snuff. Significant correlates for excessive consumption of alcohol were increasing age and cigarette smoking while those for exceeding the safe limit chronic liver were increasing age, male gender and cigarette smoking. Conclusion: There is a high prevalence of current alcohol use among urban slums in Enugu. Public health educational measures for reducing alcohol consumption should be encouraged. Efforts should be made to educate the populace on the need for abstinence.

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This study investigated marital dissatisfaction and perceived social support as predictors of depression among married individuals. The participants for this study comprised of 276 members of Catholic Men Organization (CMO) and Catholic Women Organization (CWO) of Awka Diocese, selected through the use of simple random sampling technique. Their age ranged from 24 to 55 years, with a mean of age of 46.12 and a standard deviation of 18.34. Instruments administered on them included Index of Marital Satisfaction (IMS), Depression subscale (Scale D) of Symptom Distress Checklist-90 (SCL-90), and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS). Multiple Linear Regression Statistic was used to analyze the data collected. Result showed that the first hypothesis was not confirmed, and that the last three hypotheses were confirmed. Based on these findings, it revealed that while marital dissatisfaction was found not to be a factor positively predicting depression among married individuals in Awka Diocese, social support domains (e.g. family, friends, and significant others) were found to negatively predict depression among married individuals. Therefore, based on these results, it was recommended that married individuals should not only ensure that they seek for ways of making their marital experiences more positive in other to checkmate marital dissatisfaction, they should also endeavour to see that the three domains of social support present in their lives are positive as well. This should be so, for such positive nature of these variables will go a long way in preventing them from presenting with depression.