Epidemiological Co-relates of Depression among Housewives in Rural Area of District Ludhiana

Background: Depression is the leading cause of disease-related disability among women in the world today. It is much more common among women than men. Very few data are available on depression among housewives in India. Therefore, this study was planned to study the epidemiological co-relates of depression among housewives in rural area of district Ludhiana. Materials and Methods: This study is a community-based cross-sectional study carried out in the field practice area of the Department of Community Medicine, Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana, Punjab. After calculating the sample size, 300 study subjects were included in the study by systematic random sampling. The information was collected on a pre-tested and pre-designed pro forma through interviews. Results : On taking the medical history of the subjects, H/o chronic disease/illness ( P = 0.000) and H/o any previous episode of depression ( P = 0.006) were found to be significantly associated with depression. Among the psychosocial factors, presence of any addiction in the family members ( P = 0.000), reported verbal abuse by husband ( P = 0.000) were found to be statistically significant. Among biological factors, age at marriage ( P = 0.016), menopausal status ( P = 0.000), and H/o infertility ( P = 0.000) were found to be significant. On applying binary logistic regression, the factors which were found to be independently influencing the occurrence of depression in housewives are: Intake of medication, presence of patient of any debilitating illness or any addiction in the family members, H/o reported verbal abuse by husband, and H/o infertility. Conclusions: Biological and psychosocial factors contribute to the higher vulnerability of women to depression. Key words: Biological factors, Depression, Housewives, Medical history, Psychosocial factors