Screening of depression among patients in Family Medicine in Southeastern Saudi Arabia

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence rate of depression and its relationship with patients’ sociodemographic characteristics and chronic diseases.

METHODS: This cross sectional study was performed at the Family Medicine Department, Sharurah Armed Forces Hospital (SAFH), Sharurah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Two hundred and eighty adult subjects were randomly selected. Patient Health Outcomes-9 Symptom Checklist was used for screening of depression in each participant. Also, information on socio-demographic characteristics and chronic diseases was collected. The field work was conducted between December 2010 to January 2011 and the study was completed in March 2011.

RESULTS: Out of the 280 patients, 272 responded to the questionnaires with a response rate of 97%. The total number of males was 116 (42.6%) and females was 156 (57.4%). Depression was diagnosed in 12% (n=33) of screened population. Out of 33 depressed patients, 7 (21%) had minimal depression, 18 (55%) suffered from mild depression, 3 (9%) with moderate depression, 3 (9%) with moderately severe depression, and 2 (6%) with severe depression. The subjects who were living in a room were 4.8 times more likely to suffer from depression than subjects who stayed in a flat or villa. Also, employees were 1.7 times more prone to depression than non-working subjects.

CONCLUSION: Depression is a common health problem among primary health care patients. Primary health care physicians should be the cornerstone in screening for an underlying depressive disorder and initiating appropriate referral or treatment.