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
Multicenter Study
. 2022 Sep 10;22(1):602.
doi: 10.1186/s12888-022-04239-w.

Prevalence and predictors of depressive symptoms among married Egyptian women: a multicenter primary healthcare study

Doaa Mohamed Osman  1 , Gellan K Ahmed  2 , Manal Mukhtar Farghal  3 , Ahmed K Ibrahim  1
Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Prevalence and predictors of depressive symptoms among married Egyptian women: a multicenter primary healthcare study

Doaa Mohamed Osman et al. BMC Psychiatry. .

Abstract

Background: Depression affects about 3.8% of the world's population. Although marriage may contribute to subjective well-being, some marital variables could increase women's risk for depression. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of depressive symptoms and their correlates among married females attending primary healthcare facilities.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on a purposive sample of 371 married women at the primary healthcare centers, Assiut Governorate, Upper Egypt. In this study, an interviewer-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and marital satisfaction using the ENRICH Marital Satisfaction Scale (EMS). Standardized measurements of weight and height were performed.

Results: According to the PHQ-9 diagnostic criteria, the prevalence of depressive symptoms among the studied married females was 30.2%. The significant predictors of depressive symptoms were advanced husbands' ages, living with an extended family, exposure to spousal verbal violence, high body weight, and low marital satisfaction levels.

Conclusions: Approximately one-third of married Egyptian women experienced depressive symptoms. In addition to high body weight, some social and marital factors contributed to the increase in women's vulnerability to depressive symptoms. Egyptian primary healthcare physicians should be trained to identify females with depressive symptoms and refer them to specialists if need be. To combat depression in women, it may be helpful to construct qualified marital counseling centers. This may improve marital satisfaction, decrease the negative consequences of spousal violence, and ensure the value of independence for new families.

Keywords: Depressive symptoms; Egypt; Marital satisfaction; Women.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare that are relevant to the content of this article.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Distribution of depressive symptoms’ grades using the PHQ-9 among studied Egyptian married women
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Evaluation . IoHMa: Global Health Data Exchange (GHDx) 2021.
    1. WHO . Depression fact sheet. 2021.
    1. Kuehner C. Why is depression more common among women than among men? Lancet Psychiatry. 2017;4(2):146–58. doi: 10.1016/S2215-0366(16)30263-2. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Claes SJ. CRH, stress, and major depression: a psychobiological interplay. Vitam Horm. 2004;69:117–50. doi: 10.1016/S0083-6729(04)69005-4. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Organization WH . Depression and other common mental disorders: global health estimates. 2017.

Publication types