Association between Sociodemographic Factors and Depressive Symptoms among Adult Population in Serbia

Vera  Simic; Ivana Simic  Vukomanovic; Svetlana  Radevic; Vladimir  Vukomanovic; Svetlana  Djukic; Albert  Darijan; Jovana  Radovanovic; Viktor  Selakovic; Milos  Stepovic; Ermin  Fetahovic; Snezana  Radovanovic

doi:10.18502/ijph.v53i4.15563

Vera Simic Department of Nursing, Secondary Medical School, Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
Ivana Simic Vukomanovic Department of Social Medicine, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, Kragujevac, Serbia
Svetlana Radevic Department of Social Medicine, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, Kragujevac, Serbia
Vladimir Vukomanovic Department of Nuclear Medicine, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, Kragujevac, Serbia
Svetlana Djukic Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, Kragujevac, Serbia
Albert Darijan College of Health Sciences, Academy of Applied Stidies Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
Jovana Radovanovic Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, Kragujevac, Serbia
Viktor Selakovic Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, Kragujevac, Serbia
Milos Stepovic Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, Kragujevac, Serbia
Ermin Fetahovic Department of Communication Skills, Ethics, and Psychology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University Kragujevac, Kragujevac, Ser-bia
Snezana Radovanovic Department of Social Medicine, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, Kragujevac, Serbia

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/ijph.v53i4.15563

Keywords: Depressive symptoms; Adults; National health survey; Serbia

Abstract

Background: Lower socioeconomic groups were more affected by depressive symptoms among adults of Serbia. In this study, we tested a model that examines association between sociodemographic factors and depressive symptoms among adult population in Serbia.

Methods: The study was conducted within the National Health Survey of the Serbian population in 2019. The questionnaires used as instruments in this study were created in accordance with the questionnaires of the European Health Interview Survey –Third Wave. The Patient Health Questionnaire - 8 was used to evaluate the presence of depressive symptoms to the adult population aged 20 years and over. The relations between depression symptoms and a set of independent variables were examined with univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses.

Results: The prevalence of mild depressive symptoms was 6.6%, %, the prevalence of depressive episodes was 2.2%, while 91.2% of respondents had no depressive symptoms. In the univariate regression model, depressive episodes is 1.9 times more frequent in women (OR=1.909), 6.6 times more frequent in persons over 80 years of age (OR=6.610 ), 3.1 times more frequent in divorced or without a partner (OR=3.143 ), 6.6 times more frequent in persons with low education (OR=6.609), 3.3 times more frequent in persons with a poor well-being index (OR=3.373), 3.6 times more frequent in persons inactive (OR=3.649) and 1.9 times more frequent in persons from Vojvodina (OR=1.902).

Conclusion: Sociodemographic factors should be considered for policymaking and for the development of new interventions to lower prevalence of depressive symptoms in adults.