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The prevalence of depression in two districts of Uganda

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Abstract

Background

Little information is available on the prevalence of depression in Uganda. Given the recent political history of Uganda, depression may be common.

Method

The aim was to estimate the point prevalence of probable clinical depressive disorder among the general population in two contrasting districts of Uganda. Translated versions (in Madi and Lusoga) of the 13-item Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) were administered to a systematic sample of adult residents in the Adjumani and Bugiri districts of Uganda.

Results

The overall prevalence of probably clinically significant depression (BDI score of 20–39) was 17.4%. Significantly higher rates were found in women and in Adjumani District.

Conclusion

Depression is common in Uganda and particularly in the more troubled and less socially cohesive district of Adjumani.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda

    Emilio Ovuga M. Med Psych

  2. Health Services Research Dept., Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College, London, UK

    Jed Boardman FRCPsych, PhD

  3. Chaucer Community Resource Centre, 13 Ann Moss Way, London SE16 2TH, UK

    Jed Boardman FRCPsych, PhD

  4. The Swedish National Center for Suicide Research and Prevention of Mental Ill-Health (NASP) at The National Institute for Psychosocial Medicine (IPM) and Dept. of Public Health Sciences Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden

    Danuta Wasserman MD, PhD

Authors
  1. Emilio Ovuga M. Med Psych
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  2. Jed Boardman FRCPsych, PhD
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  3. Danuta Wasserman MD, PhD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jed Boardman FRCPsych, PhD.

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Ovuga, E., Boardman, J. & Wasserman, D. The prevalence of depression in two districts of Uganda. Soc Psychiat Epidemiol 40, 439–445 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-005-0915-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-005-0915-0

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