AB013. Major depressive disorder and its risk factors in low- and middle-income countries
Abstract

AB013. Major depressive disorder and its risk factors in low- and middle-income countries

Qinyao Yu1,2,3, Fanyu Xue1,4, Mingjun Gao1,5, Sofia Laila Wik1,6, Sze Chai Chan1, Shui Hang Chow1, Claire Chenwen Zhong1, Don Eliseo Lucero-Prisno III7, Martin C. S. Wong1,8, Junjie Huang1,8

1The Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China; 2Jinan University-University of Birmingham Joint Institute, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China; 3School of Mathematics, College of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK; 4Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada; 5Adam Smith Business School, College of Social Science, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK; 6Karolinska Institute, Solna, Sweden; 7Department of Global Health and Development, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK; 8Centre for Health Education and Health Promotion, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China

Correspondence to: Dr. Junjie Huang, PhD. The Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China; School of Public Health, Prince of Wales Hospital, 5/F, School of Public Health Building, Prince of Wales Hospital, 30-32 Ngan Shing Street, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, China. Email: junjie_huang@link.cuhk.edu.hk.

Background: Major depressive disorder (MDD) currently ranks as the third leading cause of the global disease burden, with projections indicating it could become the foremost cause by 2030. Despite this alarming trajectory, research on the burden of MDD in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) remains limited. This study aims to examine the disease burden, risk factors, and temporal trends of MDD from 1990 to 2019.

Methods: Data were collected from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) databases for 135 LMICs. Disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) with 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs) were used to estimate the burden of MDD, and risk factors for MDD were analyzed. LMICs were grouped based on the World Bank’s income classification.

Results: In 2019, the total number of MDD DALYs in LMICs was 30.04 (95% UI: 20.58–41.51) million, accounting for 80.76% of the global burden. The DALYs rate of MDD generally increased with age across all income groups in LMICs, showing a negative relationship with income level. Females experienced a higher disease burden than males. From 1990 to 2019, the burden of MDD was inversely associated with the income level of LMICs. The leading risk factors for MDD in 2019 were bullying victimization and childhood sexual assault. The impact of these risk factors varied by age, with bullying victimization affecting individuals aged 15–29 and childhood sexual assault having the most significant impact on individuals aged 0–29 in upper-middle-income countries and around age 59 in low-income and upper-middle income countries.

Conclusions: MDD remains a significant health concern in LMICs, particularly among females, youth, and the elderly. It is crucial to prioritize interventions and allocate healthcare resources to effectively reduce the burden of MDD in these vulnerable populations.

Keywords: Major depressive disorder (MDD); disease burden; risk factors; low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)

Acknowledgments

We are grateful for the supports from Summer Undergraduate Research Programme (SURP), The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Funding: None.

Footnote

Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at https://jphe.amegroups.com/article/view/10.21037/jphe-2023-apru-ab013/coif). The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Ethical Statement: The authors are accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved. The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki (as revised in 2013). This study was approved by the Survey and Behavioural Research Ethics Committee, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (No. SBRE-22-0826) and individual consent for this retrospective analysis was waived.

Open Access Statement: This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which permits the noncommercial replication and distribution of the article with the strict proviso that no changes or edits are made and the original work is properly cited (including links to both the formal publication through the relevant DOI and the license). See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.

doi: 10.21037/jphe-2023-apru-ab013
Cite this abstract as: Yu Q, Xue F, Gao M, Wik SL, Chan SC, Chow SH, Zhong CC, Lucero-Prisno DE 3rd, Wong MCS, Huang J. AB013. Major depressive disorder and its risk factors in low- and middle-income countries. J Public Health Emerg 2024;8:AB013.

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