The Association between Depressive Symptoms and Physical Diseases in Switzerland: A Cross-Sectional General Population Study

Abstract

Objective: To estimate the association between depressive symptoms and physical diseases in Switzerland, as respective findings might inform about future estimates of mental and physical health care costs.

Methods: A population-based study, using data from the Swiss Health Survey collected by computer-assisted telephone interviews and additional written questionnaires during the year 2007 (n = 18,760) in Switzerland. The multistage stratified random sample included subjects aged 15 years and older, living in a private Swiss household with a telephone connection. Complete data were available for 14,348 subjects (51% of all subjects reached by telephone). Logistic regression analyses were used to estimate the associations between depressive symptoms and any physical disease, or a specific physical disease out of 13 non-communicable physical diseases assessed with a self-report checklist on common physical diseases. Analyses were adjusted for sex, age, education, occupation, and household income.

Results: In the adjusted models, depressive symptoms were associated with arthrosis and arthritis [Odds Ratio (OR) = 1.79, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.28-2.50] and any physical disease (OR = 1.67, 95% CI = 1.33-2.10) after controlling for multiple testing.

Conclusion: Our findings contribute to a better understanding of the comorbidity of depressive symptoms and arthrosis and arthritis in Switzerland and might have implications for more precise future estimates of mental and physical health care costs.

Keywords: co-occurrence; comorbidity; depressive symptoms; major depression; mental–physical; mental–somatic; physical disease.

Figure 1

Flowchart of study participants.