The prevalence and associated factors of depression among patients with schizophrenia in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Depression is common among people with schizophrenia and associated with severe positive and negative symptoms, higher rates of disability, treatment resistance and mortality related to suicide, physical and drug-related causes. However, to our knowledge, no study has been conducted to report the magnitude of depression among people with schizophrenia in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the prevalence and associated factors of depression among people with schizophrenia. METHOD: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 418 patients with schizophrenia selected by systematic sampling technique. Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9) was used to measure depression among the study participants. To identify the potential contributing factors, we performed binary and multivariable logistic regression analysis adjusting the model for the potential confounding factors. Odds ratios (OR) with the corresponding 95% confidence interval (95%CI)) was determined to evaluate the strength of association. RESULT: The prevalence estimate of depression among people with schizophrenia was found to be 18.0% [95% confidence interval: 14.50–22.30]. Our multivariable analysis revealed that current substance use (AOR 2.28, 95%CI (1.27, 4.09), suicide attempt (AOR 5.24, 95%CI (2.56, 10.72), duration of illness between 6 and 10 years (AOR 2.09, 95%CI (1.08, 4.04) and poor quality of life (AOR 3.13, 95%CI (1.79, 5.76) were found to be the factors associated with depression among people with schizophrenia. CONCLUSION: The current study revealed that comorbid depression was high among people with schizophrenia and associated with current substance use, suicide attempt, and long duration of the illness as well as poor quality of life. Attention needs to be given to address comorbid depression among people with schizophrenia.