Prevalence of Moderate to Severe Depressive Symptoms among Adults in the UAE: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

The objectives of the study were to assess the prevalence of moderate to severe depressive symptoms among adults aged 18 years or older, assess the relationship between the severity of depression and selected socio-demographic, psycho-social, lifestyle, and health-related factors, and identify the determinants of moderate-to-severe depressive symptoms in the adult population of 18 years and older in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This was a cross-sectional study conducted in the United Arab Emirates that targeted residents above 18 years of age. A research questionnaire was developed and approved by three specialists in the field, along with the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ9). The Chi-square test was used to assess the association between variables, and multiple logistic regression analysis was used to find the predictive risk factors for moderate to severe depressive symptoms. The study encompassed a group of 562 participants, achieving a response rate of 97.33%. Initially, a Google Form was distributed electronically to the entire participant pool; however, 15 individuals declined to participate, resulting in a final sample size of 547 (n). Amongst the variables that showed significant prevalence of moderate to severe depressive symptoms were age (P <0.001), sex (P <0.001), marital status (P <0.001), occupation classification (P <0.001), religiosity (P <0.001), education level (P <0.001), job stress (P <0.001), domicile and residence (P <0.001), responsibility towards family (P <0.001), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (P <0.001), consumption of alcohol (P <0.001), coronavirus disease pandemic (P <0.001), employment status (P = 0.002), family size (P = 0.001), and smoking (P = 0.004). Amongst the variables, the subgroups that showed significant predictive factors of moderate to severe depressive symptoms were the ages between 18 and 25 years old (P = 0.01), the female gender (P <0.001), and low levels of religiosity (P <0.001). The prevalence of moderate-to-severe depressive symptoms was 48% (n=260). In our study on the prevalence of depression, we have investigated several predictive factors, including age, gender, religiosity, and a history of prior depression diagnosis. While numerous factors contribute to depression, additional research is imperative to identify and validate additional predictive factors.