Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 Jul 31;10(7):e0131937.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0131937. eCollection 2015.

The Epidemiology of Major Depressive Episode in the Iraqi General Population

Ali Obaid Al-Hamzawi  1 , Ronny Bruffaerts  2 , Evelyn J Bromet  3 , Abdulzahra Mohammed AlKhafaji  1 , Ronald C Kessler  4
Affiliations

The Epidemiology of Major Depressive Episode in the Iraqi General Population

Ali Obaid Al-Hamzawi et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Objective: To assess the prevalence, symptom severity, functional impairment, and treatment of major depressive episode (MDE) in the Iraqi general population.

Methods: The Iraq Mental Health Survey is a nationally representative face-to-face survey of 4,332 non-institutionalized adults aged 18+ interviewed in 2006-2007 as part of the WHO World Mental Health Surveys. Prevalence and correlates of DSM-IV MDE were determined with the WHO Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI).

Findings: Lifetime and 12-month prevalence of MDE were 7.4% and 4.0%, respectively. Close to half (46%) of the 12-month MDE cases were severe/very severe. MDE was more common among women and those previously married. Median age of onset was 25.2. Only one-seventh of 12-month MDE cases received treatment despite being associated with very substantial role impairment (on average 70 days out of role in the past year).

Conclusions: MDE is a commonly occurring disorder in the Iraqi general population and is associated with considerable disability and low treatment. Efforts are needed to decrease the barriers to treatment and to educate general medical providers in Iraq about the recognition and treatment of depression.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: This study received funding from Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical, Inc., GlaxoSmithKline, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Shire. In the past five years, Dr. Kessler has been a consultant for Hoffman-La Roche, Inc., Johnson & Johnson Wellness and Prevention, Sonofi-Aventis Groupe, Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical, Inc., GlaxoSmithKline, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Shire. Dr. Kessler has served on advisory boards for Mensante Corporation, Plus One Health Management, Lake Nona Institute, and U.S. Preventive Medicine. Dr. Kessler owns 25% share in DataStat, Inc. There are no patents, products in development or marketed products to declare. This does not alter the authors’ adherence to all the PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Cumulative lifetime prevalence of DSM-IV major depressive by birth cohort in Iraq.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Mokdad AH, Jaber S, Aziz MI, AlBuhairan F, AlGhaithi A, AlHamad NM et al. (2014) The state of health in the Arab world, 1990–2010: an analysis of the burden of diseases, injuries, and risk factors. Lancet 25: 309–320. - PubMed
    1. Al Hilfi TK, Lafta R, Burnham G (2013) Health services in Iraq. Lancet 381: 939–948. 10.1016/S0140-6736(13)60320-7 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Ferrari AJ, Charslon FJ, Norman RE, Patten SB, Freedman G, Murray CJL et al. (2013) Burden of depressive disorders by country, sex, age, and year: Findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010. Plos medicine 10: e1001547 10.1371/journal.pmed.1001547 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kilzieh N, Rastam S, Maziak W, Ward KD (2008) Comorbidity of depression with chronic diseases: a population-based study in Aleppo, Syria. International journal of psychiatry in medicine 38: 169–184. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Noorbala AA, Bagheri Yazdi SA, Yasamy MT, Mohammad K (2004) Mental health survey of the adult population in Iran. Nordic journal of psychiatry 184: 70–73. - PubMed

Publication types