MORE than half (53 per cent) of men in Jamaica have been experiencing varying levels of depression during the post-COVID-19 period, according to a study conducted by Northern Caribbean University (NCU) in October and November 2022.
The levels of depression recorded were 41 per cent mild, eight per cent moderate and four per cent severe. according to a release from NCU.
The study, titled ‘Assessing Depression in Jamaican Males: Post-COVID-19’, further revealed that nearly 10 per cent of the of 1,066 adult males surveyed attempted suicide or had suicidal thoughts or wished they were dead. Another 25 per cent felt their life was not worth living. The survey findings have a plus/minus three per cent margin of error.
According to the NCU study, depression can be defined as a mood disorder which is associated with feelings of sadness and loss of interest, which negatively affects how one feels, thinks, and behaves. Depression results in a disruption of various aspects of daily living and may present itself in times of stress, crises, or conflicting events; and if not treated promptly, it can affect one’s functioning.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has indicated that depression affects approximately 3.8 per cent of the world’s population (280 million people), noting that 75 per cent of people in low-and-middle-income nations go untreated for this mental health disorder.
