S-35-01

Prevalence of depression in people of Pakistani origin in U.K.

F. Creed. University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom

Objective: To assess whether depression is more common in people of Pakistani origin than white Europeans living in U.K. To assess also whether the prevalence is associated with life stress.

Methods: Survey of population based sample of 928 people of Pakistani family origin and 947 white Europeans. Two phase study using Self-Report Questionnaire (SRQ) and SCAN diagnostic interviews to assess depression. Life Events and Difficulties Schedule for life stress.

Results: At baseline there was a higher prevalence of depression among Pakistani women (32%) compared with European women (19%), European men (13%) and Pakistani men (9%). Depression was particularly prevalent in older Pakistani women and was closely associated with severe social stress and lack of support. There was no difference in the course of depression over 6 months between the different ethnic groups.

Conclusion: The high prevalence of depression in Pakistani women is a result of severe social stress and lack of adequate social support.

S-35-02

Depression among migrants of Turkish and Russian origin living in Germany

C. Haasen. University Hospital Eppendorf Hamburg, Germany

A depressive reaction to the stress associated to migration and the acculturation thereafter has been described in the literature. Furthermore, depressive syndromes among migrants are reported by clinicians to involve somatization more frequently, despite the fact that somatization has not been found to be more frequent in different regions of the world. There is insufficient evidence on the association between acculturation stress and depressive symptomatology, as well as the extent of somatization symptoms and their relation to acculturation stress. In two studies among Turkish and Russian migrants in Germany these relationships were analysed, of which the results will be presented.

S-35-03

Social stress and depression in women in Pakistan

H. Nusrat. University of Manchetser, Manchester, United Kingdom

Background: Previous studies have reported a high prevalence of depression in women in Pakistan. This study investigates whether risk factors for chronic depression established in studies performed in Western countries can explain this high prevalence.

Method: A two-phase survey using the self-rating questionnaire (SRQ) and the Psychiatric Assessment Schedule was performed on a population sample in rural Pakistan. Demographic data and results of the Life Events and Difficulties Schedule Interview were analysed in relation to SRQ score and psychiatric disorder.

Results: 145 women were screened. High SRQ score was associated with low educational status, not having a confidant, having 4 or more children, being older, not being married and living in a house with more than 3 people per room. Regression analysis demonstrated that the first three of these independently contributed to SRQ score. In the interviewed sample (74 women) only educational level independently contributed to the presence of depression. The least educated group experienced the greatest number of marked difficulties: 67% of them had experienced both marked housing and financial difficulties compared to 28% and 25% of the other educational groups (p=0.005). Experiencing both housing and financial difficulties was a significant risk factor for depression in women with secondary education, but not for those without secondary education.

Conclusion: This study suggests that high levels of social adversity and low levels of education are strongly associated with depression in women in Pakistan and the other vulnerability factors found in the West may be less important in this population.

S-35-04

Gender differences in factors associated with psychological distress among immigrants from low and middle-income countries: Findings from the Oslo Health Study

S. Thapa, E. Hauff. Institute of General Practice, Oslo, Norway

Objective: Despite the high rate of migration from low and middle-income countries to high-income countries, there is still a lack of comprehensive studies of gender specific differences in psychological distress in a diverse group of immigrants. We compared psychological distress between male and female immigrants from low and middle-income countries living in Oslo, and identified factors associated with distress for men and women, separately.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey with self-administered questionnaires was conducted among 1536 immigrants from low and middle-income countries living in Oslo. The Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HSCL-10) was used to measure psychological distress. Data on their sociodemographic characteristics, negative and traumatic life events, and social integration and possible discrimination in the Norwegian society were also collected.

Results: One-fourth of the study population was found psychologically distressed, with almost equal levels among men and women. Lack of salaried job and recent negative life events were independently associated with psychological distress for both genders. Furthermore, experience of denial of job and past traumatic experiences were other associated negative factors among men, while visits made by Norwegians appeared as a protective factor against distress among men. Older age, Middle East background, living without a partner, and experiencing denial of housing were other associated negative factors among women.

Conclusion: Our findings show that except for adverse living conditions, there are gender differences with regards to factors associated with psychological distress among immigrants living in Oslo. Such gender issues are relevant for assisting immigrants in the integration process as well as for future research in migration and health.