DEPRESSION AND ITS ASSOCIATED FACTORS: A STUDY ON CAREGIVERS OF PSYCHIATRIC PATIENTS

Objective: To determine the frequency and association of depression among caregivers of psychiatric patients. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Study place and duration: Outpatient Department of a Tertiary Care Hospital, Rawalpindi, from Sep 2016 to Apr 2017. Methodology: A total of 200 caregivers of psychiatric patients were included in this study. Each caregiver was interviewed by a consultant psychiatrist to measure the frequency of depression according to International Classification of Disease-10 (ICD10) criteria and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) score of >8. Socio-demographic factors were associated with presence of depression by using chi-square test. Results: The mean age observed was 35.36 ± 8.39 years. There were 84 (42%) males and 116 (58%) females. Depression was found in 95 (47.5%) caregivers of psychiatric patients in our analysis. Female gender, low socio-economic status and type of psychiatric illness had significant relationship with presence of depression among our target population. Conclusion: Depression was a highly common undiagnosed entity among the caregivers of psychiatric patients. Female caregivers or caregivers with low socio-economic status should be screened especially for depression in addition to caregivers of patients suffering from psychotic illness.