Objective To investigate the prevalence and distribution of depression in rural residents of Liuyang. Methods 7347 rural residents of 15 years and older were selected from Liuyang by multistage stratified random sampling. The Structured Clinical Interview (SCID) was used to assess major depressive episode (MDE) and dysthymic disorder according to DSM-IV criteria. Results: The prevalence of present major depressive episode(MDE) was 1.9%(95%CI 1.6% ~2.2% ), past MDE was 1.3% (95% CI 1.0% ~1.6% ), dysthymic disorder was 0.8% (95% CI 0.6% ~1.0% ), and the total prevalence of depression was 4.0%(95% CI 3.6% ~4.4%). The depression prevalences were higher in females (4.6%) than in males(3.3%) by chi-square test ( χ2=8.928, P=0.030), and the difference of age-adjusted prevalences between sex groups were statistically significant ( χ2=6.129, P=0.013). The depression prevalences were also significantly different among age groups ( χ2=50.986, P=0.000), and highest in 45 ~74 years age-group. Conclusion: The depression prevalence in rural residents of Liuyang is higher than the most of that reported in other domestic studies. The prevalences of depression are higher in females and middle and old age residents.
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