The Incidence of Depression among the Population of Central Kazakhstan and Its Relationship with Sociodemographic Characteristics

It has been established that the presence of depression is accompanied by an increased risk of morbidity and mortality in cerebrovascular and cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. The aim of this research was to estimate depressive symptom prevalence among the population in Central Kazakhstan and to define the relationship with social-demographic and behavioral factors. 1820 respondents of the population of Central Kazakhstan, aged 25 to 65, were performed. Participants included 777 urban and 1043 rural residents. Depressive symptoms assessed with the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). The results showed that some degree of depressive symptoms was detected in 75.7% of the respondents. A minimal degree of depressive symptoms was observed in 28.51%, mild in 27.7%, moderate in 13.7%, and severe and very severe degree of depressive symptoms in 4.6% and 1.2%, respectively; the absence of depression symptoms was reported in 24.3% of the respondents. The study found a relationship between the prevalence of depressive symptoms and factors such as gender, education, income, presence of chronic diseases, and physical activity. We have not found a correlation between the frequencies of depressive symptoms with age, employment, character of labor, and marital status.