A Cross-Sectional Study on the Prevalence of Depressive Symptoms and Its Associated Sociodemographic Factors in Peru during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Angel Christopher Zegarra-López (), Brian Florentino-Santisteban, Jorge Flores-Romero, Ariana Delgado-Tenorio and Adriana Cernades-Ames
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Angel Christopher Zegarra-López: Faculty of Psychology, Universidad de Lima, Lima 15023, Peru
Brian Florentino-Santisteban: Faculty of Psychology, Universidad de Lima, Lima 15023, Peru
Jorge Flores-Romero: Faculty of Psychology, Universidad de Lima, Lima 15023, Peru
Ariana Delgado-Tenorio: Faculty of Psychology, Universidad de Lima, Lima 15023, Peru
Adriana Cernades-Ames: Faculty of Psychology, Universidad de Lima, Lima 15023, Peru

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 21, 1-16

Abstract: The present study aims to analyze the prevalence of depressive symptoms and its sociodemographic-associated factors in Peruvian adults. Data was extracted from a nation-wide representative survey in which depression symptoms were measured with the PHQ-9 and sociodemographic information was extracted from household data. Depression severity rates were estimated for each symptom, and responses were modeled through the Rating Scale Model to obtain a depression measure used as dependent variable on a Generalized Mixed Linear Model. The most frequent depression symptoms were emotional, such as discouragement, sad mood, hopelessness, and lack of pleasure when doing activities. Our model showed that, after controlling the effects of all the variables considered, the most relevant predictors were gender, education level, physiographic region, age, marital status, and number of coresidents. Higher depression levels were found in women, people who did not complete higher education, participants living in the Highlands, older adults, single participants, and people living alone. Thus, interventions to promote or prevent depression severity during similar situations as the pandemic should focus on specific sociodemographic groups and their particular needs.

Keywords: mental health; depression; Peru; COVID-19; sociodemographic factors (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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