The Prevalence of Depression and Its Relationship with Demographic Variables in the Employees of Fasa University of Medical Sciences

Abstract

Background & Objective: Depression is one of the most prevalent psychiatric disorders. It causes enormous amount of costs for employees and leads to reduced social and occupational functions severely. This investigation was conducted to study depression prevalence and its relationship with demographic variables among Fasa University of Medical Sciences employees in 2017.

Materials & Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was conducted among 149 employees working at Fasa University of Medical Sciences in 2017. The data collection instruments included a demographic questionnaire and the Beck II standard questionnaire. The data were analyzed by SPSS (version 18) and through descriptive, Chi-2 and correlation tests. The significance level was considered at P<0.05.

Results: 44.8 and 55.2 percent were males and females respectively. Their mean age was 34.41 ± 7.01 with age range from 22 to 55 years old. The mean year of working record was 8.6 ± 16.36 with range of 1-27. Most of employees (77.9 percent) were married and 44.8 percent of them had B.S level of education. The results of present study show that 38.6 percent of employees suffered from different levels of depression so that 16.6, 17.9 and 4.1 percent of them had mild, average and severe to very severe depression, respectively. There was a significant correlation between employee's depression and their education level (p=0.02).

Conclusion: Consequently, it is suggested to establish consulting centers in universities in order to screen employees’ health status. They can find susceptible cases and provide them with any necessary interventions to control their depression and cure them.