Prevalence of depression among adults in Oyo State, Nigeria: a comparative study of rural and urban communities.

OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to assess the current prevalence of depression in Oyo State, Nigeria and the rural-urban variation in prevalence.

SETTING: This is a two-phase community-based cross-sectional study. The urban areas selected for the study are the Ibadan North-West and Egbeda local government areas. The rural area selected was the Saki-East local government area.

PARTICIPANTS: A total of 1105 participants were recruited into the study. Multistage sampling technique was used to obtain a representative sample of the participants from the communities in Oyo State. The study was conducted using an interviewer-administered structured questionnaire, and the general health questionnaire (GHQ 12) as a screening tool. The second phase of the interview was conducted only for those participants with a score of more than 3 using the GHQ 12. These participants were then clinically examined using the Structured Clinical Interview DSM IV for assessment of clinical depression.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Prevalence of depression.

RESULTS: A total of 721 (65.2%) were from urban communities, while 384 (34.8%) were from the rural community. The overall prevalence of depression was found to be 5.2%. Depression was more prevalent among women than men (5.7% vs 4.8%, chi(2) = 0.36 P = 0.55), and among adolescents (9.6%, P = 0.04). Furthermore, depression was more common in the rural areas than in the urban areas (7.3% vs 4.2%, chi(2) = 4.94 P = 0.02).

CONCLUSION: Depression is more common in rural than urban areas in the Nigerian population. Mental health education for adolescents and secondary school students should be encouraged in rural communities.