Sociodemographic predictors of depression among survivors of armed conflict with posttraumatic stress disorder in Dogonahawa, north central Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Survivors of mass violence are at high risk of developing a wide range of psychological disorders. Nevertheless, little is known about the impact of trauma in post conflict low-income countries where armed conflict abounds.
Objective: This study was carried out to assess the prevalence of comorbid  depression among victims of armed- conflict in Dogonahawa, north-central Nigeria who developed posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and those who did not. It also assessed the socio-demographic predictors for comorbid depression among those who developed PTSD.
Method: A cross-sectional study that employed a multi stage sampling technique to select eligible subjects in Dogonahawa, north-central Nigeria. The PTSD module of Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) was used to assess for current symptoms of PTSD, while the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) was used to assess for depression.
Results: The results showed that 55.5% and 44.7% of the respondents had PTSD and PTSD with comorbid depression respectively. The difference in prevalence was statistically significant with adults diagnosed with PTSD in this community being significantly more likely to experience comorbid depression than those without PTSD (p< 0.001). Being a female gender and being the head of household were found to be the predictors for comorbid depression among respondents with PTSD.
Conclusions: Mental health consequences of conflict continued to endure four years after the armed conflict. In the light of the above, mental health emergency  interventions after exposure to traumatic event need to be developed to enhance healing and recovery.

KeyWords: PTSD, co-morbid depression, sociodemographic predictors, depression, Armed, Conflict, Dogonahawa