Physical injury and depression in six low- and middle-income countries: A nationally representative study

Studies on the association between physical injury and depression in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are scarce. Therefore, our goal was to analyze the association between physical injury and depression using nationally representative data from six LMICs.

Cross-sectional data from the Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health (SAGE) survey (2007-2010) were analyzed (N = 42,489). Questions based on the World Mental Health Survey version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview were used for the endorsement of past 12-month DSM-IV depression. Any injury in our analysis referred to having experienced traffic injury or other injury in the past 12 months. Multivariable logistic regression analysis and meta-analyses were used to assess associations.

Overall, the prevalence of depression was higher among those who had any injury compared to those without injuries (9.0% vs. 3.7%). Compared to having no injury, any injury without disability was associated with a 1.72 (95%CI=1.18-2.50) times higher odds for depression, while the odds for injury with disability was much higher (OR =3.81; 95%CI=2.16-6.73). The pooled estimate (OR) for the association between any injury and depression based on a meta-analysis using country-wise estimates was 3.28 (95%CI = 1.71-6.31) and a moderate level of between-country heterogeneity was observed (I² = 63.1%).

Causality or temporal associations cannot be established due to the cross-sectional nature of the study.

Personalized mental health care to victims of physical injury may reduce risk for depression. Treating disability as the result of injuries may also be effective in the prevention of depressive disorders.