Prevalence and predictors of depressive symptoms among married Egyptian women: a multicenter primary healthcare study

Abstract

Background Depression affects about 3.8% of the world’s population. Although marriage may contribute to subjective well-being, some marital variables could increase women’s risk for depression. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of depressive symptoms and their correlates among married females attending primary healthcare facilities. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted on a purposive sample of 371 married women at the primary healthcare centers, Assiut Governorate, Upper Egypt. In this study, an interviewer-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and marital satisfaction using the ENRICH Marital Satisfaction Scale (EMS). Standardized measurements of weight and height were performed. Results According to the PHQ-9 diagnostic criteria, the prevalence of depressive symptoms among the studied married females was 30.2%. The significant predictors of depressive symptoms were advanced husbands’ ages, living with an extended family, exposure to spousal verbal violence, high body weight, and low marital satisfaction levels. Conclusions Approximately one-third of married Egyptian women experienced depressive symptoms. In addition to high body weight, some social and marital factors contributed to the increase in women’s vulnerability to depressive symptoms. Egyptian primary healthcare physicians should be trained to identify females with depressive symptoms and refer them to specialists if need be. To combat depression in women, it may be helpful to construct qualified marital counseling centers. This may improve marital satisfaction, decrease the negative consequences of spousal violence, and ensure the value of independence for new families.

Depression among Health Care Workers in Khartoum State, Sudan, 2022

“…Some factors were significantly associated with depression with a P value of less than 0.05 but were not significant predictors for depression, such as age group (18 -30 years), which was found to be significant in a study in Egypt [36]. Regarding gender, we found that it was significantly associated with depressive symptoms, with male participants having a higher prevalence than female participants (P-value = 0.03, AOR = 1.773 (1.056 -2976), likewise a study in Bangladesh [37].…”

Risk factors-related first episode postpartum psychosis among Egyptian women: the role of psychosocial and the biological factors

“…Consistent with the present results, Lopez et al [5] and Upadhyaya et al in India [3] also found that that PP was more common in the 18-25 years age group. This is probably because pregnancy is more stressful for younger women who are usually not as psychologically prepared as the older ones for it [26,27] that mothers at the age of 35 years or older were at a higher risk of PP [28,29]. This finding, which is contrary to ours, may be attributed to the higher incidence of medical complications of pregnancy and delivery that is recorded among older mothers than among younger ones; for example, the higher rates of cesarean delivery and preterm birth that may be associated with a slightly increased risk of PP [30].…”

Factors affecting depression among married adults: a gender-based household cross-sectional study

“…The married adults currently living together with their spouses in the households situated in Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC) area were considered as the study population. Since the number of households was known (99,222) [ 30 ], the required number of samples for the present study was calculated using the formula, [ 31 ], where n = the number of samples, z = 1.96, p = 0.302 (the prevalence of depression among married women was taken from a previous study [ 32 ], and d = 0.05 (margin of error). The formula provided that 324 households were the minimum required sample size for the study.…”