Association between Depression and Social Demographic Factors in a Nigerian Family Practice Setting

Abstract

Objectives: Although depression is one of the more common illnesses in outpatients' clinic, it is often overlooked. Besides accurate identification and treatment is challenging. As pertinent as demographic factors are in explaining the variability of depressive symptoms, there is paucity of data in Nigeria in particular, and West Africa in general, hence the need to bring into lime light the association between depression symptoms and socio-demographic factors in a General Outpatients Clinic in Nigeria, West Africa. Methods: Following institutional ethics committee approval, four hundred newly registered patients who attended the General Out Patients Department (GOPD) of Kwara State Specialist Hospital, Ilorin, Nigeria, were selected by systematic random sampling and studied. The Patients Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) specifically developed for use in primary care with acceptable reliability, validity, sensitively was used. Association between each socio-demographic factor and depression was sought. Results: One hundred and seventy eight (44.5%) out of the four hundred respondents were found to have one form of depression or the other. There was minimal depression in 119 (29.8%), mild in 54 (13.4%), moderate in 2 (0.5%), and severe in 3 (0.8%). There was strong statistical association between depression and age group, sex, marital status, level of education, occupation and monthly income, p-values 0.008, 0.000, 0.000, 0.003, 0.000, 0.001 respectively. However, religion (p = 0.541) and ethnicity (p = 0.567) were of no statistical importance. Conclusion: The prevalence of depressive symptoms among patients attending family practice clinics was high. There was also strong association between depression and socio-demographic factor. Family physician should have high index of suspicion to patients with vague somatic complaints and the aforementioned socio-demographic factors. Early detection of depression can be enhanced by screening patients for this disorder, when they attend the hospital for other reasons.

Prevalence and Socio-Demographic Determinants of Depression in Women: A Comparison between Pre-Menopausal and Post-Menopausal Attendees of the General Outpatient Department in Fmc Lokoja

“…This is somewhat similar to another study done in Ilorin, North Central Nigeria, which recorded a strong statistical association between depression and age group, sex, marital status, level of education, occupation, and monthly income. However, religion and ethnicity had no statistically significant relationship with depression in this study (Shittu et al, 2014).…”

“…Relationship between socio-demographic factors and depression among preand post-menopausal women. which found a significant association between marital status, age, educational level and depression prevalence in women (Salihu & Udofia, 2016;Shittu et al, 2014). Worthy of note, however, is the fact that the older women in both age groups were more prone to having depression; that the widowed pre-menopausal and married post-menopausal women had increased depression prevalence; and that in both groups, lack of formal education was associated with greater depression prevalence.…”

Prevalence and Pattern of Depression among Women of Polygamous and Monogamous Family Settings in Rural Areas of Sokoto State, Nigeria

“…Women are more likely to experience depression than men and it has been shown that one third of women will experience a major depressive episode in their lifetime [2,4,5]. Factors that play a role in the etiology and clinical manifestation of depression include biochemistry, genetics, personality, environmental factors amongst others.…”

Obsessions at Night: Dream Experiences, Emotional Attributes, and Personality Traits as Indicators of Sleep Problems

“…There is abundant evidence that sleep problems can account for or conversely can be explained by various emotional disturbances, including anxiety (e.g., Fite, Becker, Rubens, & Cheatham-Johnson, 2015;Iwadare et al, 2015;Leblanc, Desjardins, & Desgagné, 2015;Weiner, Meredith Elkins, Pincus, & Comer, 2015), depression (e.g., Shittu et al, 2014;Sivertsen, Harvey, Lundervold, & Hysing, 2014;Zuo, McCabe, Mellor, & Xu, 2015), and anger or aggression (e.g., Fite et al, 2015;Ireland & Culpin, 2006;Vaughn, Salas-Wright, White, & Kremer, 2015). The presence of insomnia or hypersomnia is indeed a diagnostic criterion for mood disorders, including both major depression and bipolar disorders (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).…”