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. 2021 Oct 8;16(10):e0258105.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0258105. eCollection 2021.

Prevalence and predictors of depression, anxiety, and stress among adults in Ghana: A community-based cross-sectional study

Hubert Amu  1 , Eric Osei  1   2 , Philip Kofie  1 , Richard Owusu  1 , Samuel Adolf Bosoka  1 , Kennedy Diema Konlan  2   3 , Eunji Kim  4 , Verner Ndudiri Orish  5 , Raymond Saa-Eru Maalman  5 , Emmanuel Manu  1 , Phyllis Atta Parbey  1 , Farrukh Ishaque Saah  1 , Hadiru Mumuni  3 , Prince Kubi Appiah  1   6 , Joyce Komesuor  1 , Martin Amogre Ayanore  1 , Gregory Kofi Amenuvegbe  1 , Siwoo Kim  6 , Hajun Jung  6 , Martin Adjuik  1 , Elvis Enowbeyang Tarkang  1 , Robert Kaba Alhassan  7 , Ernestina Safoa Donkor  3 , Francis Bruno Zottor  1 , Margaret Kweku  1 , Paul Amuna  1 , So Yoo Kim  6 , John Owusu Gyapong  8
Affiliations

Prevalence and predictors of depression, anxiety, and stress among adults in Ghana: A community-based cross-sectional study

Hubert Amu et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Introduction: Over the past two decades, there have been several global interventions including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), aimed at improving health outcomes. Despite efforts by countries to achieve the SDG targets, mental health challenges remain major public health concerns globally. We examined the prevalence and predictors of depression, anxiety, and stress as well as the comorbidities of these mental health issues among adults.

Materials and methods: This was a community-based cross-sectional study conducted among 2456 adults in four districts of the Volta Region of Ghana using data from the UHAS-Yonsei University Partnership Project. We analysed the data using frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, correlation, and binary logistic regression.

Results: Overall, 51.8% of the participants had at least one of the mental health issues examined. The prevalence of a mental health issue was 25.2%, 53.3%, and 9.7% for depression, anxiety, and stress respectively. Participants constituting 8.3% experienced all three mental health issues as comorbidities. Participants' level of formal education and income significantly predicted depression, anxiety, and stress respectively at the multivariable level. Adults with a tertiary level of education were, for instance, 68% (AOR = 0.32, 95%CI = 0.15-0.66), 65% (AOR = 0.35, 95%CI = 0.17-0.73), and 50% (AOR = 0.50, 95%CI = 0.33-0.76) less likely to experience depression, anxiety, and stress, respectively compared with those who had no formal education.

Conclusion: The majority of our study participants either experienced depression, anxiety, or stress. There were quite high comorbidities of the mental health issues among the adult population. To accelerate progress towards the achievement of SDG 3.4 target of promoting mental health and wellbeing for all by the year 2030, there is a need for effective implementation of the country's 2012 Mental Health Act which makes provisions for the establishment of a Mental Health Fund. This could improve the financial circumstances of indigenes as income has been realised in the present study as an important factor influencing depression, anxiety, and stress among the adult population.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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