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. 2019 Dec 11;4(4):57-65.
doi: 10.25646/6227. eCollection 2019 Dec.

Depressive symptoms in a European comparison - Results from the European Health Interview Survey (EHIS) 2

Ulfert Hapke  1 , Caroline Cohrdes  1 , Julia Nübel  1
Affiliations

Depressive symptoms in a European comparison - Results from the European Health Interview Survey (EHIS) 2

Ulfert Hapke et al. J Health Monit. .

Abstract

Depression is associated with a significant individual and social burden of disease. The European Health Interview Survey (EHIS) provides data that can be used to compare the situation in Germany to that of other European countries. Data was evaluated from 254,510 interviewees from Germany and 24 additional Member States of the European Union (EU). Depressive symptoms as defined by the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-8) were used as an indicator of depression. The prevalence in Germany (9.2%) is higher than the European average (6.6%). However, when the severity of depression is taken into account, only the prevalence of mild depressive symptoms is higher (6.3% versus 4.1%). In Germany, young people display depressive symptoms more frequently (11.5% versus 5.2%) than older people (6.7% versus 9.1%). These results should be discussed against the backdrop of differences in age and social structure and point toward a need for prevention and provision of care targeting younger people in Germany, in particular.

Keywords: DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOM SEVERITY; DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS; EUROPEAN COMPARISON; SEX AND AGE.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest The authors declared no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Age standardised prevalence of depressive symptoms during the last two weeks by age and severity (mild depressive symptoms: PHQ-8 10-14 points; moderate to severe depressive symptoms: PHQ-8 >14 points) Source: EHIS 2 (2013-2015)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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