Abstract

Objective. To estimate the prevalence of depression in family practice and to investigate the relationship of depression with some sociodemographic factors, lifeevents and general health of patients.
Methods. The current study makes use of the materials of the PREDICT study which was conducted in 6 European countries: Estonia, Slovenia, UK, Netherlands, Spain and Portugal. The study was carried out in 24 family practices across Estonia. The study involved 1096 consecutive patients, aged 18–75 years, attending family practice to consult the family doctor. The occurrence of depression was estimated using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI). All patients completed a questionnaire for assessment of sociodemographic and health-related risk factors of depression.
Results. Of the patients 23.6% had a depressive episode according to the ICD-10 criteria during the  last 6 months, and 15.4% had it during the last month. Moderate depression and severe depression were more prevalent compared with mild depression. Female patients had a lower rate of mild depression and a higher rate of moderate depression compared with male patients. Depression was related to female gender, unemployment, poor financial coping, and having more than two negative incidents during the last 6 months. Also, depression was more prevalent among the patients who reported that they had some long-term illness or disability as well as among those who estimated their general health as poor.
Conclusion. Depression is more prevalent than expected among Estonian primary care users. The knowledge of risk groups contributes to identification and treatment of depressive disorders in primary care.