The relationship between depression and socioeconomic factors

Abstract

Introduction: Depression is a commonly occurring worldwide disorder linked to a decline in social functioning and quality of life. Socioeconomic factors can influence the prevalence and course of depression, but the studies results are controversial because they vary across countries. Objectives: The purpose of this research was to study associations between socioeconomic indicators present at patients with depression and hospitalization outcomes. Methods: The study included a group of 410 patients, with ages between 18 and 65 years, diagnosed with depressive episode or recurrent depressive disorder that were hospitalized in the “Prof. Dr. Al. Obregia” Psychiatry Hospital of Bucharest, between June 1, 2016 and May 31, 2017. Results: The mean age of the group was 54.23 years, 80% of the lot were female patients, 41.76% had graduated vocational school or not graduated high school and 79.99% were retired. The number of readmissions had a mean value of 5.65 and the mean value for the hospitalization days was 9.00. We found statistical significant differences regarding the length of hospitalization for the different categories of education and employment status. Conclusions: Depression is a high prevalence, impairing disorder associated with the individuals socioeconomic status and this study results demonstrate the importance of future research in this domain.