Depression in midlife woman: A study with users of primary health services

Abstract

This study is based on the data collected in an investigation regarding Primary Health Care patients. The prevalence of depressive disorders is studied in a sample of women with ages ranging between 35 and 65 years. All women (n = 179) responded to the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), and 127 agreed to participate in a structured clinical interview adapted from the evaluation of mood disorders section of the Structured Clinical Interwiew for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders (SCID-I) in order to evaluate the presence of various forms of depression according to the DSM-IV criteria. It was verified that 13% of these women met the criteria for the diagnosis of a Major Depressive Episode, 19% met the criteria for Dysthymic Disorder and 5,5% met the criteria proposed for a Minor Depressive Episode. The relation of age, education level, marital status, work for pay, having children, children at home, dependent children and other socio-demographic variables with the rate of depressive disorders is studied.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17575/rpsicol.v19i1/2.397