Prevalence of students with symptoms of depression among high school students in a district of western Turkey: an epidemiological study.

BACKGROUND

To determine the factors affecting the prevalence of depression and also to present some pertinent comments concerning prevention of depression among high school students. This study was deemed important and relevant due to the increasing importance of depression among high school students.

METHODS

A sample of students aged 14-19 years from the 6 high schools of 1 district of western Turkey were surveyed. The students selected were all attending the school during March and April 2006. The Beck Depression Inventory was used as a screening test.

RESULTS

During the study, a total of 846 students completed the survey. Of the study group, 51.9% (439) were male and 48.1% (407) female, with an age average of 16.3 +/- 1.1 years. According to the scale, the prevalence of depression was 30.7% (n = 260), 22.6% for males (n = 99) and 39.6% for females (n = 161). The most depression was seen in males (22.6%), those with any kind of physical problem (37.3%), those with diseases necessitating the use of medication (51.1%), those with acne vulgaris (35.2%), and those having previously experienced any kind of problem (47.3%).

CONCLUSIONS

These results highlight not only the need for students' parents and teachers to be well informed on the subject of depression in terms of students' health but also the need for more education programs to be aimed at students relating to the problems they may experience during the period of adolescence. Furthermore, these results show that students identified as depressed should be referred for an appropriate diagnosis to specialized psychiatry centers.