Masked depression in Nigerians treated at the Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital Aro, Abeokuta

In 1980, 572 patients were treated for depressive illness at Aro Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Abeokuta in Nigeria. These included 91 cases in which diagnoses other than depression were initially made due to the overwhelming somatic and psychoneurotic symptoms which totally eclipsed the primary depressive symptoms. The presentation and management of these 91 cases have been described. There is the need for psychiatrists to be aware of the possibility of depressive illness being masked at presentation, particularly in Africans.