BACKGROUND: Depression is the second leading cause of death among young people worldwide, and severity and suicidality are useful predictors of an adverse outcome.
AIM: This study aimed at examining factors associated with depression among university students in Tanzania.
METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted between March 2018 and July 2019 of undergraduate students across four universities. They completed a self-reported questionnaire collecting socio-demographic, together with a Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) to screen for depression. A multivariate logistic regression model was used to determine independent predictors of depression.
RESULTS: A total of 1047 students completed the study. Their mean (±SD) age was 24.2 (±7) years. 219 students (21.3%) screened positive for probable depression (survey-1 34% vs survey-2 13%). A total of 228 (21.9%) students reported having thoughts of serious self-harm. Factors independently influencing depression included year of study, substance abuse, unhappy interpersonal relationships and chronic mental or physical illness. The presence of an eating disorder was a predictor of depression and was recorded in 7.4% of all students.
CONCLUSION: Significant probable depression is present in one fifth of undergraduate students in this study. These results demonstrate a worrying degree of self- reported features of depression among North Tanzanian university students.
Language: en
Keywords
Depression; Tanzania; prevalence; factors; undergraduate students