Prevalence of Depression and its Associated Factors Among Hypertensive Patients: A Cross Sectional Study

Introduction: Mental health and physical health are association with each other’s: poor mental health is a risk factor for chronic physical condition and it significantly impact on people’s quality of life. The social determinants of health impact on both chronic physical condition and mental health. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence sub-clinical depression and factors associated with depression among the hypertensive out patients’ department ofhospitals in Pokhara. Methods: A hospital based cross-sectional study design was conducted among 215 hypertensive patient visiting OPD ward of selected hospitals of Pokhara Metropolitan City. Depression levels were assessed using the Beck Depression Inventory-Ia (BDI) scale. Demographics and risk factors were assessed. Systematic random sampling was conducted for selecting hospitals and proportionate random sampling technique was used to make the sample representative of hospitals. Results: Out of the total 215 hypertensive patients and around fifty-nine percentage were males and the mean age of respondents is 52 +12.04 years. Around one-third of the hypertensive patients had depression. The mean BDI-Ia score for depression status having respondent was 16.88±16.45. Conclusions: This study provides the evidence of depression is associate with hypertensive patient’s socio-demographic factors such as sex, age, marital status, employment and income and behavioral factors. Hypertensive patients should be encouraged to increase their physical activities and family support.