High prevalence rate of PTSD among medical students in Jos is an indicator of psychological consequences of the recurring crises on the inhabitants. There is a need for follow-up and counseling/trauma healing for those identified.
The prolonged Boko Haram crises in North-East Nigeria caused serious displacement and left the survivors with multiple psychological consequences such as Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A high prevalence rate of PTSD among Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) has been reported across literatures. This study aimed to determine the factors that are associated with PTSD and its relationship with functional disability among IDPs in Yobe State, Nigeria. This was a cross sectional study of 450 respondents, recruited using a systematic sampling method. We used Harvard Trauma Questionnaire to screen for symptoms of PTSD and definite diagnosis made with WHO Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI), PTSD Module. Hopkins Symptom Checklist was used for symptoms of depression and definite diagnosis made with CIDI Depression Module. The WHO Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 was used to measure functional disability. There were 192 (45.5%) males and 230(54.5%) female respondents. The mean age of respondents was 39.4±18.50 years with range of 18-80 years. Significant PTSD symptoms were found among 159(37.7%) of the IDPs while Clinical interview gave a definite prevalence of 18.5%. Two hundred and forty-four (57.8%) of the respondents had disability scores in the mild range, 17.5% in the moderate range while 20.7% were in the severe range. Majority of those with disability scores in the severe range had PTSD. Factors significantly associated with PTSD were age, marital status, duration of displacement, type of abode, general living condition, self-reported general health, and disability score. A High prevalence rate of PTSD was found among IDPs and the severity of disability correlated well with having diagnosis of PTSD in the study.
A common factor in the development of mental disorders, including depression, is exposure to trauma. Boko Haram crisis has ravaged the North East part of Nigeria and has left indelible traumatic effect on the inhabitants especially the Internally Displaced People (IDPs) who fled their homes for survival. Previous studies reported high rates of depression and disability among IDPs. We set out to investigate the prevalence of depression, disability and correlates among the IDPs in two selected camps in Yobe state. We carried out a cross sectional study among 422 adult IDPs selected through a systematic sampling method. One hundred and ninety two (45.5%) were males. The mean age of the subjects was 39.4±18.50 years with range of 18-80 years. Of the 422 IDPs, 166(39.3%) had probable depression and 76(18.0%) had definite depression. Factors significantly associated with diagnosis of depression were; age (p=0.028), marital status (p=0.001), living condition (p=0.001), general health (p=0.001) and WHODAS 2.0 scores (p=0.001). Logistic regression revealed that age <20years (OR=8.4;p=0.001), being an IDP in the camp irrespective of the living condition (OR=3.6;p=0.001), being single/unmarried (OR=10.0;p=0.048) and comorbid PTSD predicted diagnosis of depression. Having a disability score in the severe range (OR=5.7;p=0.001) strongly correlated with having depression in the study. There is a high rate of depression among IDPs in North-east, Nigeria. Having a diagnosis of depression correlated well with the severity of disability in study. We recommend regular psychiatric services as part of routine medical services to IDPs as health cannot be complete without mental health.
Depression has been consistently associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD), it is also known to play an essential role in the initiation and exacerbation of CVD. This study was aimed to determine the prevalence and correlates of depression among patients attending the cardiology clinic of the Benue State University Teaching Hospital (BSUTH), Makurdi. The study was conducted among one hundred and six (106) consenting patients attending the cardiology unit of BSUTH from June to August 2017. The result shows that, 52(49.1%) were males while the remaining 54(50.9%) were females. The mean age of the respondents was 53.48±14.77years, twenty-eighty respondents representing 26.4% were married at the time of the study, 15(14.2%) were single while the remaining 63(59.4%) were previously married. Thirty-seven (34.9%) of the study subjects had no formal education and eighty-two (77.4%) of the presentation at the clinic were having a diagnosis of hypertension, 8(7.5%) were being treated for Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD), 9(8.5%) were diagnosed with cardiomyopathies, 3(2.8%) were diagnosed heart failure and 4 (3.8%) had other cardiovascular diseases. The prevalence of depression was found to be 45.3% in this study, there was a statistically significant relationship between the diagnoses of depression and gender status (p=0.001), marital status (p=0.01), partner relationship (p=0.001), substance abuse (p=0.001). No statistically significant relationship was found between depression and occupational status (p=0.167), level of educational attainment (p=0.401), respondents’ weight (p=0.06), and the nature of cardiovascular diagnoses (p=0.951). We recommended early detection and treatment of depression among patients with cardiovascular diseases.
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