title: A community-based walk-in screening of depression in Taiwan.
abstract: Depression is a crucial public health problem because of its relatively high association with suicidal attempts, prolonged social isolation, poor physical health, and dementia. However, the available data and study on the prevalence of depression in Taiwan were mostly completed within the previous 1 to 2 decades, and these studies were limited to certain areas or populations. Little is known regarding the current status of depression in Taiwan. We used a brief tool, the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), to screen depression in 4 areas among the general and aged population. The results showed a higher CES-D score in the southern area among general (mean ± SD: 7.8 ± 8.4) or aged participants (mean ± SD: 7.2 ± 8.0) compared with other areas. The ratio of suspected depression patients was 16.4% of all recruited participants and 13.3% of aged participants. These results may provide information for this public health issue.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, Kaohsiung Municipal Ta-Tung Hospital, Kaohsiung City 80145, Taiwan ; Department of Family Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung City 80708, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Shu-Yu
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-3886-5929
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Tai
authors.affiliation: Mentality Protection Center, Fo Guang Shan Compassion Foundation, Kaohsiung City 80050, Taiwan ; Graduate Institute of Oral Health Sciences, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung City 80708, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Tzu-Chiao
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Mentality Protection Center, Fo Guang Shan Compassion Foundation, Kaohsiung City 80050, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Ling-Chun
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Mentality Protection Center, Fo Guang Shan Compassion Foundation, Kaohsiung City 80050, Taiwan ; Department of Neurology, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung City 80708, Taiwan ; Department of Neurology and Master's Program in Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung City 80708, Taiwan ; Department of Neurology, Kaohsiung Municipal Ta-Tung Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung City 80145, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yuan-Han
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-1918-9021
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003155:Community Mental Health Centers; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged; D013624:Taiwan