Prevalence of depressive disorders in a sample of rural and urban Egyptian communities

ABSTRACT

This study met the criteria of community samples in which the respondents have been directly contacted. The prevalence of depression among selected sample of an urban and rural population were found to be 11.4% and 19.7% respectively. Adjustment disorder was the most common category of depression in rurals, while dysthymic disorder, was the most frequent diagnosis in urbans. Demographic data revealed that depression is more prevalent in the age groups [18-35 years]. A high risk of depression was associated with female sex. The authors believe that such information will be necessary for planning mental health programs and for calculating the costs and allocations of health resources in the future