ラダーク・青海省高地住民におけるうつ病研究

Abstract

うつ病の有病率は地域や文化によって異なることが報告されているが, 高所地域における有病率は明らかではない. 60 歳以上の地域在住のラダーク人114人(平均年齢69.2歳, 女性58.8%), 青海省玉樹のチベット民族173人(66.51歳, 女性61.3%)を対象に, Patient Health uestionaire-2(PHQ-2)とGeriatric Depression Scale-15(GDS)を用いてうつ病のスクリーニングを行った. スクリーニング陽性の住民に対し専門医が構造化面接を行い, うつ病の有無を診断したところ, ラダークでは1.8%, 青海省では2.3%にうつ病がみられ, 2つの地域でうつ病の表現型は異なった.

To determine the prevalence of depression in the high-altitude regions of Ladakh and Qinghai, we recruited 114 Tibetan subjects from Ladakh, India (mean age, 69.2 years; female-male ratio, 58.8%) and 173 Tibetan subjects from Qinghai, China (66.5 years; 61.3%). The two-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-2) and the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) were administered to the subjects. A psychiatrist interviewed the residents with a single or double positive score in PHQ-2 and with a score of ≧ 5 points on the GDS. The prevalence of depression over 60 years old was 2.6% in Ladakh and 2.3% in Qinghai. There were differences in expression of the symptoms of depression according to the culture.