Twelve-month prevalence, correlates, and treatment preference of adults with DSM-IV major depressive episode in Hong Kong.
BACKGROUND
The most recent large-scale community mental health survey of depression among adults in Hong Kong was conducted over two decades ago. The lifetime prevalence rates of DSM-III major depressive disorder (females 2.44% and males 1.29%) in that study do not tally with several indices of worsened social health and clinical prevalence studies of depression in contemporary Hong Kong.


METHODS
Each of 5004 adults randomly drawn from the general population completed a telephone interview that generated the DSM-IV-based diagnosis of major depressive episode (MDE), sociodemography, help-seeking, and other epidemiological data.


RESULTS
Twelve-month prevalence of MDE was 8.4%. The female-to-male ratio was low but typical of surveys in Chinese communities. Female sex and unemployment were associated with increased risk. 32.5% of respondents with MDE reported frequent thoughts of suicide. Recognition of the need for treatment of depression was high but actual treatment rate and preference for mental health specialists were low.


CONCLUSIONS
Response rate was low though cooperation rate was moderately high. Detailed demography, comorbidity, and clinical reappraisal interviews were not covered.


CONCLUSIONS
Resolving issues of stigma and mode of symptom elicitation may lead to more valid prevalence estimates of depression among Chinese people. Although longitudinal studies are needed to confirm a genuine increase in prevalence, depression is likely to be more common in Hong Kong than previously suggested. High recognition of the need for treatment but low rate of actual treatment calls for policy and programs that improve access to treatment.
Lee
Sing
S
Department of Psychiatry, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. singlee@cuhk.edu.hk
Tsang
Adley
A
Kwok
Kathleen
K
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy*; D004651:Employment; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006723:Hong Kong / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires