Correlated factors of depression among male and female inmates

Depression in Male Inmates

Introduction: The prevalence of psychiatric morbidity is high among incarcerated individuals. Severe mental disorder is five to ten times higher among prisoners compared to the general population. Several factors are held to be responsible for the high prevalence of depression in prison: mainly poor living conditions (narrow room, loss of privacy), limited interpersonal relationships, and lack of mental health access. Inmates are at increased risk of all-cause mortality, suicide, self-harm, violence, and victimization while those with mental disorders are involved in conflicts and are more likely to be charged with prison rules. Purpose: To explore depression among male inmates. Methods and material: In the study, 101 male inmates were enrolled. Data were collected by the completion of a “self-rating depression scale (SDS)-Zung” which included participants’ characteristics. The statistical significance level was p < 0.05. Results: Of the 101 participants, 51.4% of inmates were under 40 years old, 54.5% were married, 45.6% had been convicted of homicide and 38.6% had a life sentence. Normal depression levels were experienced by 62.4% of the participants, while 21.8% were mildly depressed, 14.9% were moderately depressed and 1.0% severely depressed. Foreign prisoners had statistically significant higher scores of depression compared to Greeks (median 48 vs. 45, p = 0.012); those suffering from a chronic disease compared to those who did not (median 48 vs. 45, p = 0.038); those who had spent time in solitary confinement compared to those who had not (median 46 vs. 43.5, p = 0.038) as well as those who had not considered harming themselves compared to those who had thought of it (median 46 vs. 44, p = 0.017). Conclusion: Given that prison populations are marginalized and deprived of the rights that people in the community benefit from, establishing the prevalence of depression in male inmates and its associated characteristics may help to formulate recommendations for future prison health care services. Clinical, research, and policy efforts are needed to improve prison mental health.

Prevalência e fatores associados a sintomas ansiosos e depressivos em mulheres privadas de liberdade em Juiz de Fora-MG, Brasil

Resumo Sofrimento psíquico e desenvolvimento de transtornos mentais nas prisões são questões de saúde pública reconhecidas mundialmente. Objetivou-se identificar a prevalência destes sintomas e os fatores associados em 99 mulheres com mais de 18 anos de idade, nos regimes provisório, fechado e semiaberto de Juiz de Fora-MG. Trata-se de um estudo transversal, do tipo censo, com dados coletados face a face através de questionário semiestruturado e multidimensional. Os desfechos foram avaliados pelo Patient Health Questionannaire-4 (PHQ-4). Para a análise de associação foi construído um modelo teórico de determinação com três blocos hierarquizados. Foram estimadas razões de prevalência brutas por meio do teste Qui-quadrado e ajustadas entre si dentro de cada bloco (p≤0,20). Para o modelo final de regressão de Poisson com variância robusta foi adotado p≤0,05. A prevalência de sintomas ansiosos e depressivos foi, respectivamente, de 75,8% (IC95% 66,1%-83,8%) e 65,7% (IC95% 55,4%-74,9%). No modelo final, sintomas ansiosos associaram-se à presença de sintomas depressivos. Já sintomas depressivos associaram-se à faixa etária de 20 a 29 anos e à presença de sintomas ansiosos. Verificou-se prevalência dos desfechos em mais da metade das participantes, com destaque para interassociação entre eles.

Prevalence and factors associated with anxiety and depressive symptoms in women deprived of liberty in Juiz de Fora-MG, Brazil

Abstract Psychological distress and developing mental disorders in prisons are globally recognized public health issues. This study aimed to identify the prevalence of these symptoms and associated factors in 99 women over 18 years of age in the provisional, closed, and semi-open regimes in Juiz de Fora-MG, Brazil. This cross-sectional census study collected data face-to-face through a semi-structured and multidimensional questionnaire. We assessed outcomes using the Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4). We built a theoretical determination model with three hierarchical blocks for the association analysis. We estimated crude prevalence ratios using the chi-square test and adjusted for each other within each block (p≤0.20). We adopted p≤0.05 for the final Poisson regression model with robust variance. The prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms was 75.8% (95%CI 66.1%-83.8%) and 65.7% (95%CI 55.4%-74.9%), respectively. In the final model, anxiety symptoms were associated with depressive symptoms. On the other hand, depressive symptoms were associated with the 20-29 years age group and anxiety symptoms. We identified a prevalence of the outcomes in more than half of the participants, emphasizing the inter-association between them.

DE QUE ONTOLOGIA? IMPLICAÇÕES EPISTEMOLÓGICAS E REALISMO INGÊNUO NA RACIONALIDADE DIAGNÓSTICA

RESUMO: A partir do estudo de manuais estatísticos para transtornos mentais, apontamos efeitos problemáticos em sua estruturação. Segundo nossa hipótese, o amplo uso dos manuais estatísticos por práticas clínicas teria por fundamento a inserção do realismo ingênuo na forma de investigação, tanto teórico quanto clínico, e a ausência de considerações ontológicas que indiquem o tipo de interatividade entre sujeito e outro, efetivando também o efeito looping com o diagnóstico classificatório. Como resultado, propomos que o afastamento de uma consideração à ontologia implica na construção de modelos clínicos que perdem seu espaço transformativo, ao centrarem-se nas figuras da observação e da descrição.

Global Estimates of the Prevalence of Depression among Prisoners: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Prison populations tend to be marginalized and disadvantaged of the rights and freedoms that other people in the community benefit from. Their separation from families, a narrow room and lack of privacy in the prison, violence between prisoners, and the uncertainty about the future result in psychological distress, for example, depression. The review has synthesized previous studies conducted on the topic and summarized to formulate recommendations for future prison health care services.

METHODS

We systematically searched the databases: PubMed, Psych Info, and SCOPUS, as well as manual Google Scholar searches, were conducted to retrieve published literature globally. We have included observational studies, written in English language. Estimates were pooled using a random-effects model. The study protocol was registered in PROSPERO with protocol number CRD42020156108. Subgroup and sensitivity analysis was conducted, and heterogeneity across the studies was evaluated using Q and the I ²-test. Publication bias was assessed by inspection of the funnel plot and Egger's regression test.

RESULT

A total of 1313 studies were initially identified through the electronic database; among these, a total of 73 full-text articles were retrieved for further appraisal. Further, 32 full-text articles were included in the final systematic review and meta-analysis. In this meta-analysis, the pooled prevalence of depression among prisoners was 36.9% (95% CI; 27.3-47.6). The pooled prevalence of depression among prisoners in the developing and developed countries was 39.2% and 33.1%, respectively. Moreover, the prevalence of depression was 19.1% and 54% for the studies that used diagnostic and screen tools to diagnose or screen depression, respectively. A leave-one-out analysis revealed that the pooled prevalence of depression among prisoners was not dependent on a single study removal or addition. Thus, the pooled prevalence of depression ranges between 35.3 and 38.0%.

CONCLUSION

The prevalence of depression among prisoners was high. Therefore, regular and continuous screening of depressive symptoms for prisoners along with its appropriate management is highly recommended.