Depression and suicidal ideation among undergraduates in state tertiary institutions in Lagos Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Depression is a common mental illness affecting majority of the world's population. However, evidence has shown that undergraduates are at an even higher risk compared to the general population, of developing depression due to the various challenges they face during that period. Suicide has been discovered to be the second leading cause of death among young people. Suicide ideation has been proven to be a predictor for not only suicide attempts but also completed suicides. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess depression and suicidal ideation among undergraduates in the state tertiary institutions in Lagos, Nigeria. METHOD: This study was a descriptive, cross-sectional study carried out among undergraduates in two state tertiary institutions in Lagos, Nigeria using self-administered questionnaire. A total of 750 respondents were recruited using the multistage sampling technique. Data was analysed using SPSS version 27 and the level of significance was set at p -value < 0.05. RESULTS: The survey was conducted among undergraduates in the two state tertiary institutions in Lagos State: Lagos State University (48.3%) and Lagos State Polytechnic (51.7%). The mean age of the respondents was 21.5 (2.7) years. Majority of the respondents were females (54%), single (98.1%), Christians (70.3%), and the source of income of majority of the students was parents (72.8%). From the case vignette used in the questionnaire, 47.6% of the respondents were able to correctly identify depression. The prevalence of depression and suicidal ideation in this study was 22.5% and 21.6% respectively. Depression was statistically significantly associated with suicidal ideation (p < .001). Risk factors that were statistically significantly associated with depression and suicidal ideation were low self-esteem (p < .001), intake of recreational drugs (p < .001), alcohol dependence (p < .001), and positive history of bullying (p < .001). CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS: The proportion of respondents with good knowledge of depression was not satisfactory. A strong relationship was found between depression and suicidal ideation indicating that people with depression are at a high risk of having suicidal ideation. Risk factors that were associated with depression and suicidal ideation were bullying, low self-esteem, intake of recreational drugs, alcohol dependence, poor academic performance, sexual assault and being hit by a partner. More works need to be done by the government and non-governmental organisations, school administration and parents to increase the awareness on the symptoms and manifestations of depression and reduce the burden created by some of the risk factors identified in this study to combat depression and suicidal ideation.

A rural-urban comparison of ownership and utilization of Long-Lasting Insecticide Treated Nets among pregnant women in Ogun State Nigeria

Background:The use of Long-Lasting Insecticide Treated Nets(LLINs) in Africaincreasedmean birth weight by 55g, reduced the incidence of low birth weight by 23% and decreased miscarriages/stillbirths by 33%. However, the benefit of the LLINs may be limited by the rate of ownership and utilization by pregnant women.Objective:To determine and comparethe ownership and utilizationof LLINs among pregnant womenin urban and rural areas of Ogun State. Methods:A community-based comparative cross-sectional study on 72 and 74 pregnant womenliving in urban and rural areas, respectively of Ogun State was carried out. Using a multi-stage cluster sampling technique and apretested semi-structured interviewer-administered questionnaire,information on LLINs ownership and usewere obtained. Results:Ownership of LLINs was 81.1% in rural areas compared to 66.7% in urban areas. About 65%of participantsin rural versus 44.4% in urban areas slept under LLINs.The predictor ofownership of LLIN was age group15-24years [AOR 0.10 (95%CI 0.01 -0.56)]. The predictors of utilization of LLINs includedurban residence[AOR 0.29(95%CI 0.13 ­0.65)], age group15-24years[AOR 0.17 (95%CI 0.04 ­0.70)], registration of pregnancy for antenatal care [AOR 5.12 (95%CI 1.14 ­23.03)] and knowledge on prevention of malaria [AOR 4.94 (95%CI 1.51 ­16.17)].Conclusion:Pregnant womenshould visit ANCclinics regularly, and health education on malaria should focus more on the prevention ofmalaria as well as encouraging the consistent use of the nets, particularly in the urban areas