Background: Depression is the most common psychiatric disorder among general outpatients. It has been studied in most parts of Nigeria, however there is paucity of data in the insurgency ravaged geopolitical zone of Nigeria i.e north east Nigeria, hence the need to bring into limelight this public health problem.

The objectives of the study were to determine the prevalence of depression, socio demographic and clinical variables associated with depression among general outpatients in Yobe State Specialist Hospital, Damaturu, North East Nigeria.

Materials and Methods: A cross sectional descriptive survey was conducted between August and  December 2017 among patients who attended the General Out Patient Department of Yobe State  Specialist Hospital, Damaturu, Nigeria. Out of the 420participants recruited for the study, 404 respondents  completed the study. Data was collected using a semi structured questionnaire for socio demographic  characteristics of respondents and depression was assessed by the physicians using Patient Health Questionnaire-9.

Results: Data was analyzed using SPSS version 21. The age of the respondents ranged between 18 to 60 years and above with a mean age of 41.2_+9.5years. The prevalence of depression was 65.3% among the study population. There was a statistically significant association between age (P=0.007), sex (P=0.004), marital status (P<0.001), educational status (<0.001), number of children (P<0.001), relationship tone with the spouse (P<0.001), family history of mental illness (P<0.001), monthly income (P<0.001) and depression in respondents. There was no statistically significant association between having a specific medical disorder and depression status of respondents (P=0.996).

Conclusion: The study revealed the high magnitude of depression that goes undiagnosed and unmanaged. It was suggested that general medical practitioners do thorough assessment for early detection and prompt referral of patients with depression among general outpatients.

Keywords: Depression, General Outpatients,  North East Nigeria.

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Dr Oderinde Kehinde Oyeyemi

Department of Mental Health and Substance Addiction Treatment,

Yobe State University Teaching Hospital Damaturu, Nigeria.

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Phone no: 08035281062