Factors Associated with Depression Symptoms in the Peruvian Population: Analysis of a National Health Survey

• Published in: European Journal of Mental Health Vol. 19; no. 17; pp. 1 - 10
• Main Authors: Zenas-Trujillo, Gianella Zulema, Vera-Ponce, Victor Juan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Budapest Semmelweis University 25-03-2024; Semmelweis University Faculty of Health and Public Service, Institute of Mental Health; Semmelweis University Institute of Mental Health
• Subjects: adult; Alcohol; Alcoholic beverages; Body mass index; Cohabitation; depressive disorder; diabetes mellitus; Drinks; Education, Higher; Food consumption; Fruit; Generalized linear models; Health insurance; Health surveys; Higher education; Hypertension; Linear analysis; Mental depression; Physical disabilities; Risk factors; Rural areas; Rural communities; Smoking; Surveys; Symptoms; Tobacco; Type 2 diabetes; Type 2 diabetes mellitus; Argentina
• ISSN: 1788-4934; 1788-7119
• DOI: 10.5708/EJMH.19.2024.0017

Introduction: Worldwide, approximately 280 million people suffer from depression, which results from complex interactions. Aims: Determining the prevalence of depressive symptoms and their associated factors in the Peruvian Population. Methods: Analytical cross-sectional study. The odds ratios together with their 95% confidence intervals were calculated. For evaluating the strength of association between the variables of interest, a generalized linear model of the Poisson family was performed with robust variance. Results: The factors associated with exhibiting symptoms of depression were: the female sex; the age group older than 70 years; the year 2021; being married, cohabiting and being separated; residents in the region of Lima, the rest of the coast, mountains and jungle; possessing a level of higher education; living in a rural area; physical disability; drinking alcoholic beverages; having type 2 diabetes mellitus; having hypertension; medium and high fruit consumption. Conclusions: All the variables evaluated, except for the wealth index, tobacco consumption, health insurance, and body mass index, were associated with depressive symptoms. Keywords: depressive disorder, adult, risk factors, diabetes mellitus, hypertension