Depressive symptoms and associated socioeconomic and clinic factors: Three different years data from Türkiye

Background: Depression is one of the main diseases that cause disability. It is more common in various sociodemographic situations. Aims: This study investigated the risk factors associated with depressive symptoms and changes over the years based on data from a sample from the Republic of Türkiye. It was also intended to compare depressive symptoms and inflation rates by years. Method: Data for 2016, 2019 and 2022 from the Turkish Health Survey performed by the Turkish Statistical Institute were used in the study. Data for age, sex, marital status, education level, employment status, accompanying chronic health problems, restrictions in daily activities associated with health problems and problems accessing psychological treatment due to difficulty in paying were evaluated in terms of depressive symptoms. Results: Higher depressive symptoms were determined in women, the widowed and divorced, individuals with a low level of education, the unemployed, individuals with chronic health problems, those with restrictions in daily activities associated with chronic health problems and those with problems accessing psychological treatment due to difficulty in paying. Although inflation rates increased over the years, the severity of depressive symptoms decreased. A moderate positive correlation was observed between depressive symptoms and basic activities of daily living. Conclusions: Developing policies aimed at groups with high depressive symptoms may be important in combating depression.