Depressive disorder in patients attending the outpatient department of a tertiary care hospital in Colombo

Abstract

Introduction Lifetime prevalence of depression varies across countries and different populations. Depression is a common comorbidity of physical illness. Patients with depression are known to present with somatic symptoms. Depression is under-diagnosed in primary care settings.Objectives To estimate the prevalence of depression in patients attending the outpatient department (OPD) of a tertiary care hospital in the Western Province of Sri Lanka.Methods A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in the OPD of the National Hospital of Sri Lanka (NHSL). Sample size was 205. Every fifth patient aged between 18 and 60 years who attended the OPD was recruited until the required number was met. Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) was used to identify depression.Results There were 114 (55.6%) females. Mean age was 50 years (SD 13.68 Conclusions Prevalence of depression in outpatients is similar to that reported in other parts of the world. None of the patients with depression presented seeking help for depressive symptoms.

Anxiety and depression among patients at a tertiary care respiratory clinic in Sri Lanka

“…The prevalence of depression in our study population was similar to the prevalence of depression reported among patients attending an outpatient department of a tertiary care hospital, Colombo (17). In comparison to our study, the prevalence of anxiety (17.6%) was similar and depression (8.5%) was lower in a previous study of clinic follow up patients with tuberculosis, conducted at the same hospital using the same rating scale (18).…”

Prevalence of Depression and Associated Factors among Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Attending the Diabetic Clinic at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Sri Lanka: A Descriptive Study

“…A combination of tools including validated Sinhala version of the BDI, Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS), and consultant psychiatrist's clinical assessment using the Diagnostic Criteria for Research was used in the previous study while the depression scale used in Centre for Epidemiologic studies was used as the research tool in the latter. Another study which looked into the depressive disorders among patients attending the out-patient department in a tertiary care hospital in Colombo reported an overall prevalence of 22.4%, with females being more affected than males (25.4% versus 18.7%) and significant association between pain related presenting complaint [15]. All these studies show that there is a wide variation in the rate of depression among various populations suffering from chronic illnesses.…”

Prevalence of Mental Health Disorders among Elderly Diabetics and Associated Risk Factors in Indonesia

“…Either in the general population, diabetics, or chronic disease patients, females more likely to get MHD. [8,42] Current study also found that elderly diabetics who lived in an urban area are less likely to experience MHD (POR=0.75) compared to diabetics live in a rural area. Most of the elderly diabetics in this study population were living in an urban area (63.8%); however, the proportion of MHD among elderly diabetics more likely occur in rural areas.…”