The British Journal of Psychiatry (2006) 188: 359-365. doi: 10.1192/bjp.188.4.359
© 2006 The Royal College of Psychiatrists
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Depressive symptoms in urban population samples in Russia, Poland and the Czech Republic

MARTIN BOBAK, MD and HYNEK PIKHART, PhD

International Centre for Health and Society, University College London, UK

ANDRZEJ PAJAK, PhD

Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland

RUZENA KUBINOVA, MD

National Institute of Public Health, Prague, Czech Republic

SOFIA MALYUTINA, DSc

Institute of Internal Medicine, Novosibirsk, Russia

HELEN SEBAKOVA, MD

Regional Public Health Authority, Ostrava, Czech Republic

ROMAN TOPOR-MADRY, PhD

Jagiellonian University Krakow, Poland

YURI NIKITIN, DSc

Institute of Internal Medicine, Novosibirsk, Russia

MICHAEL MARMOT, PhD

International Centre for Health and Society, University College London, UK

Correspondence: Dr Martin Bobak, International Centre for Health and Society, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, 1–19 Torrington Place, London WC1E 6BT, UK. Tel: +44 (0)20 7679 5613; fax: +44 (0)20 7813 0242; e-mail: m.bobak{at}ucl.ac.uk

Declaration of interest None. Funding detailed in Acknowledgements.

Background Relatively little is known about depression in countries that were formerly part of the Soviet Union, especially Russia.

Aims To investigate the rates and distribution of depressive symptoms in urban population samples in Russia, Poland and the Czech Republic.

Method A cross-sectional study was conducted in randomly selected men and women aged 45–64 years (n=2151 in total, response rate 69%) in Novosibirsk (Russia), Krakow (Poland) and Karvina (Czech Republic). The point prevalence of depressive symptoms in the past week was defined as a score of at least 16 on the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale.

Results In men the prevalence of depressive symptoms was 23% in Russia, 21% in Poland and 19% in the Czech Republic; in women the rates were 44%, 40% and 34% respectively. Depressive symptoms were positively associated with material deprivation, being unmarried and binge drinking. The association between education and depression was inverse in Poland and the Czech Republic but positive in Russia.

Conclusions The prevalence of depressive symptoms in these eastern European urban populations was relatively high; as in other countries, it was associated with alcohol and several sociodemographic factors.


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BJP 2006 188: 301-a13. [Full Text]