A systematic review of prevalence of Depression in Iranian patients

Depression is a common mental health disorder which has become a global public health issue. It constitutes around 35 to 45% of mental health problems in Iran and covers 8% to 20% of population of Iran. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine the prevalence of depression among the Iranian patients through systematic review and meta-analysis.

For the present study information were searched in Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, Google Scholar, and in Iranian databases including Iran Medex, SID, MedLib, Scientific Information Database, MagIran, using the following keywords: "depression", "prevalence" and Iran. The data from these databases were analyzed through meta-analysis (random effects model). Heterogeneity among the results of the studies was examined by I2 index. Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21), General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28), and Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) were used in this study, and statistical analyses were performed using STATA Ver.16.

A total of 46 studies conducted in Iran based on a sample size of 2960 individuals was found during the time period of 2010 and 2018. Prevalence of depression among Iranian patients was estimated to be 34.26 (95% CI, 24.12% - 44.10%). Thus, the findings indicated that there exists a moderate prevalence of depression which is continuously growing.

The prevalence of depression in Iran is moderate and growing which is alarming as it may turn out to be a massive increase in incidence rate of depression in coming years. This indicates a greater risk for Iranian population and calls for effective measures to be taken to control the mental health problems among Iranian patients.