Prevalence of major depression and dysthymia among outpatient attendees at a tertiary healthcare psychiatric facility in South India

Background Prevalence studies on major depression and dysthymia are plentiful at the community level in India. Hospital-based studies are few and none in Puducherry. This study aims to find the proportions of major depression and dysthymia and their association with socio-demographic characteristics among the patients attending the psychiatry outpatient department of a tertiary care hospital in Puducherry. Methods The present cross-sectional study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital. A total of 896 patients above 18 years were assessed between June 2019 to March 2020. A qualified psychiatrist diagnosed patients with depressive episodes and dysthymia according to the ICD-10 classification. Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) was used for the severity assessment of depressive episodes. Socio-demographic data were collected from all the participants. The Chi-square test or Fisher's exact test was used to analyse differences in proportions. Univariate and multivariable logistic regression was used to assess associations. A p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results We screened 896 new cases of psychiatric disorders in the walk-in clinic of the Psychiatry outpatient department; among them, 6.3% (n = 57) of the patients suffered from major depression, and 1.7% (n = 15) had dysthymia. Among those depressed, 35% (n = 20) had moderate depression, and 65% (n = 37) had severe depression. Female gender, nuclear family, living alone and literacy status were significantly associated with depression. Conclusions Major depression and dysthymia were prevalent among tertiary health care facility outpatient attendees. The data obtained from this study can help in healthcare service planning, resource allocation, and evaluating existing programmes.