Prevalence and correlates of depressive symptoms in secondary school children in Dhaka city, Bangladesh

ABSTRACT

Objectives: Depression is a leading contributor to the global burden of disease, and often starts at a young age. Depression in young people can increase the risk of unhealthy lifestyle behaviour and can lead to substantial disability, social problems, poor health, and suicide. Other research has examined depressive symptoms among adult populations in Bangladesh, but little is known about other age groups. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and socio-demographic correlates of depressive symptoms among secondary school children of Dhaka city, Bangladesh.

Design: A self-completed questionnaire was administered to 898 students from eight secondary schools of Dhaka, the capital City of Bangladesh. Of the respondents, 755 (372 males, 383 females; average age 14.26 years; SD 1.15) completed the 10-item Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CESD-10). A score of 10 or more was used to indicate depressive symptoms. Parents completed a separate questionnaire to provide individual and household/family-level data. Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) was used to assess sociodemographic and lifestyle factors associated with adolescent depressive symptoms.

Results: Among the responding adolescents, 25% reported depressive symptoms with prevalence more common among females than males (30% vs. 19%). Factors significantly associated with symptoms of depression included being female, aged 15–16 years, self-perception of non-normal weight, feeling unsafe at school, sleep disturbance, low life satisfaction, high intake of sugary drinks, and regularly skipping breakfast.

Conclusion: Depressive symptoms are prevalent among secondary school children in urban Bangladesh. Interventions for adolescents with depressive symptoms could focus on lifestyle practices such as weight management, personal safety, sleep hygiene and healthy eating.

KEYWORDS:

• Depression
• children
• adolescent
• depressive symptoms
• wellbeing
• mental health
• Bangladesh

Acknowledgements

We are very grateful to all students and their parents who participated in the study. We also thank the teachers/headmasters/principals of the participating schools for their support in the implementation of this project. Special thanks are due to Mahfuzul Kabir of Data Analysis and Technical Assistance (DATA), Bangladesh for his painstaking help with data entry. Our thanks also go to Parveen A Khanum, Shuhana Sultana, Nazneen A Khanum, Areebah S Khan and Shanchita R Khan for their sincere assistance with data collection.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Key messages

• One fifth of the Bangladesh population are adolescents, but little is known about their mental health.

• In an urban-based sample of 755 adolescents in Dhaka city, this study found that one in four reported depressive symptoms.

• Depressive symptoms were associated with being female, older, self-perception of non-normal weight, low life satisfaction, feeling unsafe at school, sleep disturbance, high intake of sugary drinks, and skipping breakfast.

• This information can be used to develop pragmatic strategies to help adolescents who are at risk of developing depressive symptoms.