UCLA

Background: Depression is a major public health problem worldwide. It is estimated that 350 million individuals around the world are affected by depression. Depression is known to be more prevalent in women than men. Several social, economic, biological, behavioral, psychosocial, and health-related factors have been identified as predictors of depression in women worldwide. However, whether or not these factors have similar effects on Omani Arab women, and the mechanism of their effects on depression among adult Omani women have not been well examined.

Aims: This study focuses on assessing predictors of depression among adult Omani women, including socioeconomic status (SES), material circumstances, bio-behavioral, psychosocial, and health care system factors, as well as age. Moreover, this study examined the utility of the revised Social Determinant of Health (rSDH) conceptual model in assessing the predictors of depression in the targeted population.

Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 240 adult women, 18-72 years old from urban and rural areas of Wilayat (province) of Rustaq. An Arabic version of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) scale was used to assess depression scores. A bivariate analytical model was used to identify correlations between each independent variable and depression in adult Omani women. Path analysis using Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to test the effects of factors within the conceptual model (rSDH), the mediator effects of latent variables between SES and depression, and the effect of age as a moderator of the association between SES and depression.

Results: Fifty-two of the participants (21.7%) were found to be depressed. Of all participants, 12.5% were mildly depressed, 6.7% were moderately depressed, and 2.5% were severely depressed. Depression scores were significantly correlated with education level, employment, place of residence, number of children, domestic violence, social support, coping strategies, seeking professional help, comfort level regarding talking to a health care professional, perceived stigma, and age. Path analysis results showed that the examined factors explained a variance of 62% on the dependent variable (depression scores). Moreover, path analysis through PLS-SEM indicated that the bio-behavioral latent variable is the significant mediator of the association between SES and depression. Age was not a significant moderator of the association between SES and depression.

Conclusion: Depression scores are high among adult Omani women and different factors were linked to higher levels of depression among those women. It will be important to consider socioeconomic, bio-behavioral, psychosocial, and health care system factors, as well as material circumstances, that may all impact the mental and emotional health of Omani women. This study is a step towards exploring predictors of an important mental disease as well as developing cost-effective prevention, promotion, and management programs to address the mental and emotional needs of adult Omani women.