The prevalence of depression among Maori patients in Auckland general practice.
BACKGROUND
There has been concern over high rates of mental illness in Maori. Previous studies in general practice have had small sample sizes.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the prevalence of major depression among Maori patients in Auckland general practice using the CIDI and the PHQ as measurement tools.


METHODS
This prevalence study is part of a larger randomised trial. The patients were recruited from 77 general practitioners from around Auckland who could provide a private room for interviewing. The patients were invited to participate in the waiting room and all consecutive patients were approached. For this study all patients received a computerised CIDI examination and one third received a PHQ assessment prior to getting the CIDI. The interviewer was blind to the questionnaire results when the patient did the CIDI.


RESULTS
There were 7994 patients approached from whom there were data on 7432. The prevalence of Maori in the study was 9.7%. The overall 12-month prevalence of major depression based on the CIDI was 10.1% 95% CI (8.8 to 11.4). For Maori the prevalence was 11.5% 95% CI (8.8 to 14.2) and for non-Maori 10.1% 95% CI (8.6 to 11.3). For Maori men and Maori women the prevalence was 8.5% and 13.4% and for non-Maori men and non-Maori women it was 8.3% and 11.1%. The prevalence of depression over at least the previous two weeks on the PHQ > or = 9 for all participants was 12.9% 95% CI (11.2 to 14.5).


CONCLUSIONS
The prevalence of depression among Maori is high, but not as high as earlier studies. This may be due to the bigger sample size of this study.
Arroll
Bruce
B
Department of General Practice & Primary Health Care, Faculty of Medical and Health Science, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand. b.arroll@auckland.ac.nz
Goodyear-Smith
Felicity
F
Kerse
Ngaire
N
Hwang
Melanie
M
Crengle
Susan
S
Gunn
Jane
J
Fishman
Tana
T
Hatcher
Simon
S
Pradhan
Sanat
S
Sidhu
Karishma
K
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003863:Depression; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000208:ethnology*; D005194:Family Practice / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009520:New Zealand / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012737:Sex Factors; D055815:Young Adult