EPlDEMIOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF DEPRESSION AMONG ASSIUT UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Abstract

Depression ranks the third after cardiac and respiratory diseases as a reason for disability and by the year 2020, it is likely to be the primary factor all over the world. The direct and indirect fmancial costs of depression worldwide are estimated at 41 billion dollars annually. Moreover, depression is sometimes a fatal disease, since 15 percent of patients develop suicidal tendencies {Okasha, 1998).

Depression is a public health problem,· as more and more people are affected by it. Approximately two to three percent of males and four to nine percent of females have depression at any one time. In USA, depression is a common illness that a primary care physician can see in practice. It represents about 15% of general practice of the primary care physician. According to statistics from the National Institute of Mental Health, ten million Americans suffer from depression each year. Without treatment, symptoms can last for weeks, months, years, or even for a lifetime. Approximately 15% of patients with a major depressive disorder eventually commit suicide every year in USA Most of suicides were in the elderly patients (Bruce et al., 2003).

The exact prevalence of depression in Egypt is unknown. Okasha (1998) provided an alarming figure on the prevalence of depression that afflicts 10% of any population. In the Arab world, there are 25 million depressed patients, while the number in Egypt alone is as high as six million.

The prevalence of depressive symptoms in Assiut governorate was 29%

for age group between 20 and 70 years, and it was 34.2% for females, and

23.1% for males for all types of depression (El-Sayeh, 1991).