Sociodemographic and lifestyle determinants of depressive symptoms in a nationally representative sample of Greek adults: The Hellenic National Nutrition and Health Survey (HNNHS)

George Michas; Emmanuella Magriplis; Renata Micha; Michael Chourdakis; George P Chrousos; Eleftheria Roma; George Dimitriadis; Demosthenes Panagiotakos; Antonis Zampelas

doi:10.1016/j.jad.2020.12.013

Sociodemographic and lifestyle determinants of depressive symptoms in a nationally representative sample of Greek adults: The Hellenic National Nutrition and Health Survey (HNNHS)

J Affect Disord. 2021 Feb 15:281:192-198. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2020.12.013. Epub 2020 Dec 9.

Authors

George Michas¹, Emmanuella Magriplis¹, Renata Micha¹, Michael Chourdakis², George P Chrousos³, Eleftheria Roma³, George Dimitriadis⁴, Demosthenes Panagiotakos⁵, Antonis Zampelas⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 118 55 Athens, Greece.
² Department of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, University Campus, 54 124 Thessaloniki, Greece.
³ First Department of Pediatrics, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Mikras Asias 75, 115 27 Athens, Greece.
⁴ 2nd Department of Internal Medicine, Research Institute and Diabetes Center, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, "Attikon" University Hospital, Haidari, Greece.
⁵ Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, School of Health Science and Education Harokopio University, Athens, Eleftheriou Venizelou 70, 176 76 Athens, Greece.
⁶ Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 118 55 Athens, Greece. Electronic address: azampelas@aua.gr.

PMID: 33326892
DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2020.12.013

Abstract

Background: The aim of this study was to assess depressive symptomatology prevalence among Greek adults amidst the financial crisis and to explore the association between depressive symptoms and sociodemographic and lifestyle factors.

Methods: The Hellenic National Nutrition and Health Survey including a nationally representative adult sample (3,675 adults; 48.7% males) was used. Trained personnel gathered information on sociodemographic and anthropometric characteristics and lifestyle status. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and clinically relevant depressive symptomatology was defined as PHQ-9 score≥10, or on anti-depressant medication. Associations between depressive symptoms and the assessed factors were estimated using stratified multivariable logistic regression.

Results: The prevalence of clinically relevant depression was 9.4%. In the regression, female sex, marital status (widowed vs. married), financial difficulties (yes vs. no), professional status (employed vs. unemployed), body mass index status (overweight/obese vs. normal weight), and smoking status (current and ex-smokers vs. never smokers) were significant, with an increased likelihood for depressive symptomatology in all variables, other than employment.

Limitations: The cross-sectional nature of the study does not allow detection of changes over time. Furthermore, it does not allow determining the presence of a temporal relationship between depression and the sociodemographic and lifestyle variables that we tested.

Conclusion: This study estimates a high prevalence of depressive symptoms among adults during the Greek financial crisis and points out important associations of depressive symptoms with different sociodemographic determinants and lifestyle factors, and provides policy health makers valuable information in their efforts to deal with this epidemic.

Keywords: Affective disorders; Depression; Economic hardship; Greece; Nutrition-health survey; PHQ-9.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Cross-Sectional Studies
Depression* / epidemiology
Female
Greece / epidemiology
Health Surveys
Humans
Life Style*
Male
Nutrition Surveys
Prevalence