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%, X-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 %, X-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.