Conducted In Penang, Malaysia ORIGINAL ARTICLE Risk Factors For Depression; Findings Of A Descriptive Study Conducted In Penang

This study aims to provide data on the prevalence of depression and the possible risk factors responsible for its prevalence. A descriptive, retrospective and prospective evaluation of the medical records was done at the psychiatry OPD, Penang, GH, from Jan 2002 till Dec 2007. The data was analyzed by using the statistical software, SPSS version 13®. A total of 298 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of depression, were the part of study. The prevalence of depression was found to be statistically significant among females (X2 =216.5, df =2, p=<0.001), as a majority [169(56.7%)] of the patients were females. In terms of ethnic groups, 172(57.7%) patients were Chinese (X2 =1951.5, df =5, p=<0.001. However, in terms of age majority, 121 (40.6%) patients were over 50 years of age (X2 =128.0, df =7, p=<0.001). Whilst evaluating the risk factors for depression, it was revealed that depression due to medical complications and social problems were the common identified stressors during patient evaluation. The most prevalent medical complication was hypertension. Among social issues, marital and family problems