Association between Sociodemographic Factors and Depressive Symptoms among Adult Population in Serbia

Background: Lower socioeconomic groups were more affected by depressive symptoms among adults of Serbia. In this study, we tested a model that examines association between sociodemographic factors and depressive symptoms among adult population in Serbia. Methods: The study was conducted within the National Health Survey of the Serbian population in 2019. The questionnaires used as instruments in this study were created in accordance with the questionnaires of the European Health Interview Survey –Third Wave. The Patient Health Questionnaire - 8 was used to evaluate the presence of depressive symptoms to the adult population aged 20 years and over. The relations between depression symptoms and a set of independent variables were examined with univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses. Results: The prevalence of mild depressive symptoms was 6.6%, %, the prevalence of depressive episodes was 2.2%, while 91.2% of respondents had no depressive symptoms. In the univariate regression model, depressive episodes is 1.9 times more frequent in women (OR=1.909), 6.6 times more frequent in persons over 80 years of age (OR=6.610 ), 3.1 times more frequent in divorced or without a partner (OR=3.143 ), 6.6 times more frequent in persons with low education (OR=6.609), 3.3 times more frequent in persons with a poor well-being index (OR=3.373), 3.6 times more frequent in persons inactive (OR=3.649) and 1.9 times more frequent in persons from Vojvodina (OR=1.902). Conclusion: Sociodemographic factors should be considered for policymaking and for the development of new interventions to lower prevalence of depressive symptoms in adults.