Risk of a major depressive episode in Colombian adults: Frequency and some associated variables during the COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT

Introduction: The risk of a major depressive episode is a public health problem;however, the frequency during the coronavirus pandemic is unknown. Objective: To determine the frequency of the risk of a major depressive episode and its association with sociodemographic variables and cognitive social capital in Colombian adults during COVID-19 confinement. Method: A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted using an online questionnaire that explored demographic variables, cognitive social capital, and risk of a major depressive episode (General Well-being Index, WHO-5). Results: Seven hundred adults answered the questionnaire. They were between 18 and 76 years old (M= 37.1, SD=12.7), 32.1% were between 18 and 28 years old, 68% were women, 24.0% scored for low social capital, and 61.1% were categorized as high risk of a major depressive episode. Female gender (aOR=1.58, 95%CI 1.12-2.22), young age (18-29 years, aOR=3.82;95%CI 2.56-5.72), and low social capital (aOR=2.05, 95%CI 1.37-3.07) were associated with risk of a major depressive episode. Conclusions: The frequency of risk of the major depressive episode was high and was associated with the female gender, young age (18 to 28 years), and low social capital. It is necessary to corroborate these findings in a probabilistic sample of Colombians and, more frequently, to quantify social capital in research.