Introduction: Depression is one of the most common mental disorders which decreases the quality of life and causes burden for individual, families and society. It is estimated that by the year 2020 it would be the second leading cause of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), second only to ischemic heart disease.

Material and Methods: This was a prospective study design. The study was conducted in the department of Psychiatry Sher-I- Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) Medical College and Hospital, Bemina, Jammu and Kashmir. The study was approved by the SKIMS Ethical Committee. The study sample comprised of 200 patients diagnosed with first episode depression (Major depressive disorder) attending psychiatric outpatient department and diagnosed by using DSM 5 criterion. The severity of the depression was assessed by HAM-D scale. Patients satisfying the inclusion and exclusion criteria during the study period were screened.

Results: In our study majority of our patients81 (42.4%) were aged between 18-29 years, The mean age was 35.3±13.56.Males constituted 106 (55.5%), 101 (52.9%) patients who belonged to rural areas and 90 (47.1%) were from urban areas, 98 (51.3%) were uneducated. There were 104 (54.5%) married men and 119 (62.3%) patients in our study belonged to middle socioeconomic class.

Conclusion: Clinical profile revealed that most of the patients had mild to moderate form of depression, a few also reported severe form of depression. Careful diagnosis of depression can help in early starting of treatment so that it can greatly decrease morbidity in patients

Keywords: Depression, Socio-demographic profile, clinical profile, Kashmir.

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Sajid Mohammad Wani

Senior Resident Department of Psychiatry SKIMS Medical College Bemina, India