Abstract
Background Depression is a leading cause of major public health problems globally, and its prevalence has been increasing, particularly in low- and middle-income countries including our country. Therefore, this study is aimed at exploring depression symptoms and their determinants among admitted medical and surgical patients which is important to get optimal care for patients. Methods An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted from May to June 2019, on adults' medical and surgical admitted patients at Saint Paul's Hospital Millennium Medical College, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The systematic random sampling technique was used to get a total of 590 samples. The standardized hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS) was used to assess individual depression symptoms. We computed the bivariate and multivariate binary logistic regression analyses to identify factors associated with depression symptoms. Statistical significance was declared at P < 0.05. Result The prevalence of depression symptoms was found to be 53.9% (95% CI: 50.2, 57.0). In the multivariable logistic regression, female sex (AOR = 2.04, 95% CI: 1.35, 3.09), being single (AOR = 3.65, 95% CI: 3.48, 2.10, 5.78), widowed (AOR = 2.82, 95% CI: 1.27, 6.30), unable to read and write (AOR = 2.71, 95% CI: 1.14, 6.47), admission at medical ward (AOR = 1.59, 95% CI: 1.02, 2.46), history of mental illness (AOR = 1.59, 95% CI: 1.02, 2.46), and poor social support (AOR = 2.82, 95% CI: 1.57, 5.11) were factors significantly associated with depression symptoms. Conclusion The prevalence of depression symptoms among admitted patients was high. Female sex, being single, widowed, unable to read and write, admission at medical ward, history of mental illness, and poor social support were factors significantly associated with depression symptoms. It is better for the Ministry of Health to give training on how to screen depression among medical and surgical patients, and interventions that would be addressing the awareness of the above factors would be beneficial to prevent further complications.
Highlights
Depression is a common mental illness globally characterized by sadness and loss of interest in activities that are normally enjoyable, accompanied by an inability to carry out daily functions [1, 2]
History of mental illness has 1.79 times increased the risk of depression compared to patients who had no history of mental illness (AOR = 1:79, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.06, 3.05), and respondents who had poor social support were 2.82 times more likely to lead to depression as compared to respondents who had strong social support (AOR = 2:82, 95% CI: 1.57, 5.11) (Table 4)
This study revealed that unable to read and write has nearly three times risk of depression symptoms compared to their counterparts, which is in line with other studies done in Iran; a lower educational level was significantly associated with depression symptoms among surgical patients [19], and in Brazil, a lower level of education has more than three times risk of depression among individuals admitted in a general hospital [41]
Summary
Depression is a common mental illness globally characterized by sadness and loss of interest in activities that are normally enjoyable, accompanied by an inability to carry out daily functions [1, 2]. In the multivariable logistic regression, female sex (AOR = 2:04, 95% CI: 1.35, 3.09), being single (AOR = 3:65, 95% CI: 3.48, 2.10, 5.78), widowed (AOR = 2:82, 95% CI: 1.27, 6.30), unable to read and write (AOR = 2:71, 95% CI: 1.14, 6.47), admission at medical ward (AOR = 1:59, 95% CI: 1.02, 2.46), history of mental illness (AOR = 1:59, 95% CI: 1.02, 2.46), and poor social support (AOR = 2:82, 95% CI: 1.57, 5.11) were factors significantly associated with depression symptoms. Female sex, being single, widowed, unable to read and write, admission at medical ward, history of mental illness, and poor social support were factors significantly associated with depression symptoms It is better for the Ministry of Health to give training on how to screen depression among medical and surgical patients, and interventions that would be addressing the awareness of the above factors would be beneficial to prevent further complications
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