Abstract
We conducted three surveys on representative random samples of adult Polish residents drawn from the citizens' register. They were conducted in June 2022 (N = 1050), October 2022 (N = 1041), and February 2023 (N = 982). Interviews were conducted using a mixed-mode technique (CAPI, CATI, and CAWI). Our key findings are that at least mild symptoms of depression are exhibited by a quarter of adults surveyed (25.8%), including a tenth (9.4%) with moderate or more severe symptoms. Translated to the population, that is more than 7.5 million Poles with at least mild symptoms and more than 2.7 million with more severe symptoms, respectively. The scale of depression symptoms is characterized by a certain seasonality. Fewer people experience them in spring than in autumn and winter. The most significant risk factors include, first of all, a poor economic situation, the presence of other health problems, and young age. There is also a higher risk for women and residents of large cities.
1. Introduction: PHQ-9, Its Shorter Version PHQ-8 and National Sample Studies
For two decades, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) is proven to be a widely used screening tool for depression in clinical and research settings. From dozens of articles related to the PHQ-9 and its use in various populations and settings, some may be mentioned to show the broadness of geographic, medical, and social contexts. One study by AlHadi et al. [1] translated and validated the PHQ-9 into Arabic, finding it to be a valid and reliable tool for measuring depression in a Saudi Arabian sample. Another study by Arroll et al. [2] validated the PHQ-2 and PHQ-9 as effective tools for screening for major depression in a primary care setting, with both scales showing high levels of accuracy and sensitivity. Several studies have examined the effectiveness of psychological interventions for depression in various populations. Baumeister, Hutter, and Bengel [3] reviewed the literature on psychological and pharmacological interventions for depression in patients with diabetes mellitus and found that psychological interventions, including cognitive behavioral therapy, were effective in treating depression in this population as measured by PHQ-9. Other studies have examined the factor structure of the PHQ-9 and its relationship to other measures. Huang et al. [4] found that the PHQ-9 had a two-factor structure, with one factor measuring cognitive and affective symptoms and the other factor measuring somatic symptoms. Founders of PHQ screeners Kroenke, Spitzer, and Williams [5] found that the PHQ-9 had good construct and criterion validity and was highly correlated with other measures of depression. Studies have also examined the use of the PHQ-9 in specific populations, such as cancer patients [6] and patients with coronary heart disease [7]. These studies found the PHQ-9 to be a valid and reliable tool for measuring depression in these populations. In summary, the PHQ-9 is a widely used screening tool for depression with good validity and reliability in various populations and settings.
The use of the PHQ-8 in social survey research with national samples was noted. Studies demonstrate the utility of the PHQ-8 as a measure of depression in social survey research with national samples. The findings from a recent study, possibly the most extensive to date examining the internal framework, dependability, and comparability across different nations of a self-reported mental health evaluation tool, indicate that the PHQ-8 demonstrates satisfactory reliability and equivalence across the 27 European countries examined. These outcomes underscore the viability of comparing PHQ-8 scores within Europe and could offer valuable insights for enhancing the screening and evaluation of depressive symptoms' severity at a European level [8].
Depression is a common mental health condition that can have significant negative impacts on an individual's well-being and quality of life. Thus, the PHQ-8 and PHQ-9, but even their shorter versions such as PHQ-2, are commonly used screening tools for depression in primary care settings. However, they have also been utilized in social survey research and national samples to assess the prevalence of depression in broader populations. Several studies have demonstrated the utility of the PHQ-8 and PHQ-9 in social survey research and national samples. For example, a study by Levis, Benedetti, and Thombs [9] found that both the PHQ-8 and PHQ-9 had good psychometric properties and were valid and reliable measures of depression in large, diverse national samples. In another analysis of more than 50 studies, PHQ-8 and PHQ-9 total scores were similar, with sensitivity minimally reduced with the PHQ-8, but similar specificity [10].
In conclusion, the PHQ-8 and PHQ-9 are valid and reliable measures for screening depression in various settings, including social survey research, national samples, and primary care settings in many countries from different continents, leading us to its potential inclusion also in the context of Poland, the Central and Eastern European country with the mental health culture merging legacies of stigma, undertreatment, and westernized modernity expressed in European Union (EU) accession in 2004. Depression screening including PHQ-9 in primary healthcare has been recommended in Poland 15 years later, within the framework of EU-funded guidelines [11].
The current section has been focused on PHQ approach to depression screening, leading us to focus on Poland's specificity. The question remains how to access the sample truly representing the population, when focusing on Polish adult population. In Poland, selected population studies may be conducted with the use of PESEL. So called PESEL stands for Powszechny Elektroniczny System Ewidencji Ludności (Universal Electronic System for Registration of the Population) and has been the official identification number utilized in Poland since 1979. Consisting of 11 digits, it serves as a unique identifier for individuals and remains unchangeable. Mandatory for both permanent residents and temporary residents residing in Poland for more than 2 months, the PESEL number is essential for official identification purposes. Its benefit is that the PESEL number contains date of birth of its holder, which contributes to the quality assurance of the research activities performed with its use.
Accessing PESEL register is possible only for official administrative use or for selected research purposes. Approaching the sample of Poles accessed via PESEL register with PHQ-8 has been considered a significant research task worth undertaking to better understand how PHQ screening approach works in the population.
The current research aims to address several specific gaps. Firstly, PHQ-8 studies are typically conducted infrequently. In this instance, the approach involves conducting ongoing PHQ-8 tracking of depression symptoms in a sample of similar respondents (recruited in the same manner, though not identical individuals) to help fill the knowledge gap regarding changes over time and the seasonality of symptoms. Secondly, the social structure, as reflected in the sociodemographic questionnaire, will provide insights into the distribution of depressive symptoms across different social groups, based on typical sociodemographic criteria. Thirdly, the research aims to bridge the gap in knowledge regarding potential referrals among the surveyed adult population (aged 18–75). This information may be informative for social and health policy not only in Poland but also in similar countries. Replicating the results could make a valuable contribution to other healthcare systems and mental health and psychosocial support interventions, including community-based interventions.
2. Methodology
We conducted three PHQ-8 surveys on representative random samples of adult Polish residents drawn from the PESEL register. The survey was conducted using a mixed-mode procedure on a representative named sample of adult Polish residents drawn from the PESEL register. Each respondent independently selected one of the methods: face-to-face interview with an interviewer (CAPI method); telephone interview after contacting an interviewer (CATI)—the respondent's contact information was received in an announcement letter; and self-completion of an online survey, which was accessed based on the login and password provided to the respondent in the announcement letter. In all three cases, the survey had the same set of questions and structure.
They were conducted in 2022: in June (30.05–9.06; N = 1050) and October (3–13.10; N = 1041) and, in 2023, in February (6–19.02; N = 982). Interviews were conducted using a mixed-mode technique, meaning that respondents could choose a convenient way to answer the questionnaire. These included face-to-face (CAPI) or telephone (CATI) interviews with an interviewer, as well as self-completion of the survey via the Internet (CAWI).
In each edition of the survey, respondents were asked the same set of eight questions, which are a shortened version (PHQ-8) of the Brief Patient Health Questionnaire, Depression Module (PHQ-9), based on criteria for measuring depression from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV). The respondents were not asked about any other illnesses, including the ones that may affect the development of depressive disorders.
The research is nonmedical, so no written informed consent was obtained from participants. Its equivalent has been the freedom to participate in research after receiving the announcement letter. The total number of participants does not add up to 3073 in some tables due to the respondents' decision of nonresponding to questions focused, e.g., on political views, use of Internet, and participation in religious activities.
How the survey results can be extrapolated to Poland? Describing the sampling methodology will make readers aware of the statistical methods by which the results are generalizable. The research encompasses the adult population of residents registered within Poland. Interviews are conducted with a group of approximately 1000 respondents. According to publicly available information from the center for public opinion research (Dz. Ustaw [12]), the sample for the study is selected in a multistage random sampling process. There are four stages which contribute to the process:
Stage 1: The first stage involves selecting the sampling frame. The sampling frame is a register containing information about all individuals belonging to the surveyed population. For research purposes, the PESEL register is utilized, containing data on all individuals registered in Poland.
Stage 2: The second stage of sampling involves stratifying the population into layers or subpopulations. If the sample is to be representative, it must be drawn from the entire population. Therefore, respondents are selected from all strata. The stratification serves to gain greater control over the territorial dispersion of the sample. The surveyed population is divided based on categories of residential areas. Six categories are distinguished: rural areas; towns with populations up to 19,999; towns with populations from 20,000 to 49,999; towns with populations from 50,000 to 99,999; towns with populations from 100,000 to 499,999; and cities with populations exceeding 500,000 (Cracow, Łódź, Poznań, Warsaw, and Wrocław). Not every province's population is divided into all six subgroups. Ultimately, the research center receives approximately 80 strata.
Stage 3: The next step is sample allocation. The research center decides how many respondents to draw from each stratum. Allocation is prepared to obtain a sample in which each stratum is represented proportionally to its size.
Stage 4: The final stage of sampling is random selection. It occurs in two stages. The first involves randomly selecting municipalities within each stratum. The number of selected municipalities is proportional to the size of the stratum, and municipalities are chosen with probabilities proportional to their population size. If a stratum consists of only one municipality, the first stage is skipped. In the next step, exactly 10 individuals (or multiples of this number if the municipality was selected multiple times) belonging to the surveyed adult population of Polish citizens are randomly selected from each municipality. This method results in named samples, consisting of precisely specified individuals.
The more detailed methodological information can be accessed via regular public communication of the abovementioned public research center. The procedure is well established in Polish social research landscape.
3. Results
3.1. Symptoms of Depression: A Combined Approach
To what extent were the respondents affected by particular mental states and behaviors that could indicate depression? In the 2 weeks preceding the survey, more than half of the respondents (52.9%) felt fatigue or lack of energy for at least a few days; nearly two-fifths (38.5%) had trouble sleeping, intermittent sleep, or too much sleep; and one-third (32.2%) felt sad, depressed, or hopeless. In the 14 days prior to the survey, more than a quarter of respondents (28.2%) experienced little interest in the activities they were doing on at least a few occasions, a fifth (19.4%) had trouble focusing, and a similar number (18.2%) were dissatisfied with themselves, feeling that they were up to no good or that they were letting themselves or loved ones down. In the 2 weeks preceding the measurement, about one-sixth of adults (15.5%) experienced a lack of appetite or overeating for at least a few days. Roughly one-tenth (11.4%) were bothered during this time by slowness of speech or movement or irritability resulting in excessive mobility.
Over the 2 weeks preceding the survey, about one-fifth of adults experienced feelings of fatigue or lack of energy (19.1%) and trouble sleeping (18.2%) on more than half of the days. About a tenth experienced a lack of interest in their activities for more than half of the days or more often (10.7%), feelings of sadness, depression, or hopelessness (10.6%). Slightly less severe were such conditions as deficits in attention and concentration (6.5%), feelings of dissatisfaction with oneself (6.3%), lack of appetite or overeating (6.1%), and slowing or agitation regarding speech or movements (4.5%).
Counting respondents' answers to the above eight questions created a synthetic measure of depressive symptoms. The index is based on the sum of answers to eight questions on a 4-point scale, on which 1 means that the condition was not experienced at all and 4 means that it was experienced almost every day. The index takes values from 8 to 32. Values from 8 to 12 indicate the absence of depressive symptoms; from 13 to 17, mild symptoms; from 18 to 22, moderate symptoms; from 23 to 27, moderately severe symptoms; and from 28 to 32, severe symptoms.
Based on it, it can be said that mild depressive symptoms are presented by one-sixth of adults (16.4%) and more severe (i.e., at least moderate) by less than one-tenth (9.4%), with one-twentieth (5.5%) presenting moderate symptoms, three in a hundred (2.7%) presenting moderately severe symptoms, and one in a hundred (1.2%) presenting severe symptoms. More than two-thirds of adults (68.6%) show no symptoms of depression. This is illustrated in Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Synthetic index of depressive symptoms.
Translating these results to the adult population of Poland (37.8 million people), it can be said that at least mild symptoms of depression affect more than 7.5 million people, of which more than 2.7 million have more severe symptoms, i.e., moderate, more than 1.6 million; moderately severe, more than 790,000; and severe, about 350,000 people. Table 1 is the reference point for these numbers.
Table 1.
Total number of adults in Poland described by synthetic index of depressive symptoms.
| Synthetic index of depressive symptoms | Total number of adults | |
|---|---|---|
| No symptoms | 20,156,372 | — |
| Mild symptoms | 4,806,199 | — |
| Moderate symptoms | 1,606,429 | 2,747,813 |
| Moderately severe symptoms | 791,112 | |
| Severe symptoms | 350,272 | |
| Data gaps | 1,651,457 | — |
3.2. Seasonality
The questions were asked three times: in late spring, autumn, and winter. Do the results obtained differ in any way depending on the season? In general, most of the mental states and behaviors addressed by the questions are more often evident in autumn and winter than in spring. If the June measurement is taken as a reference point, the biggest differences are in sleep problems (up 5.5 points in October and 8.7 points in February), loss of interest (5.9 points and 7.6 points, respectively), and feelings of fatigue or lack of energy (5.4 points and 7.1 points, respectively).
It is also worth looking at seasonal differences in terms of frequent (i.e., more than half of the days) occurrence of individual symptoms. In such a view, the biggest differences between the spring and autumn/winter seasons are marked in sleep problems (relative to the June measurement, an increase of 5.7 points in October and 4.9 points in February), appetite disorders (up 4.5 points and 4.7 points, respectively), and—although here we register mostly differences between June and October—experiencing feelings of fatigue and lack of energy (up 6.3 points and 1.9 points, respectively), sadness and depression (up 4.6 points and 2.1 points, respectively), and loss of interest (up 3.6 points and 2.2 points, respectively). In the case of symptoms such as feelings of fatigue and lack of energy, as well as sadness and despondency, it is possible to speak to some extent of an intensification in autumn and a weakening in winter. Symptoms such as attention deficit, feelings of dissatisfaction with oneself, and slowing down or agitation regarding speech or movements do not seem to be subject to seasonality.
A compilation of the values of the synthetic index of depressive symptoms from the three measurements confirms the existence of seasonality of depressive symptoms, i.e., an increase in the percentage of adults who experience them, in autumn, and the relative persistence of this scale in winter. At least mild depressive symptoms in the 14 days preceding the survey were 21.4% in June, 28.5% in October, and 27.5% in February. Considering the scale of at least moderate symptoms is, respectively, 7.2%, 11.6%, and 9.9%. Figure 2 is an illustration of these numbers.
Figure 2.
Symptoms of depression—three measurements.
3.3. Sociodemographic Variations of Depression Scale
The occurrence of depressive symptoms in the 2 weeks preceding the survey is most strongly associated with a subjectively poor assessment of one's own material situation. At least mild symptoms were experienced during this period by more than half of respondents dissatisfied with their own material situation (50.3% vs. 25.8% among all respondents) and more severe (i.e., at least moderate) symptoms by a quarter of them (24.0% vs. 9.4%). The dependence of mental health on economic factors is also reflected, albeit to a lesser extent, by income received. Mild or more severe symptoms of depression are more common among respondents from households with per capita incomes of less than PLN 1500 (at least mild, 34.1%, and at least moderate, 13.5%).
A factor that clearly co-occurs with depressive symptoms is young age and—largely related to this—being a member of the student group. Among those aged 18–24, at least mild symptoms of depression are presented by more than a third (35.7%) and more severe by 16.4%. Among those who are studying or learning, it is two-fifths (39.9%) and one-fifth (20.1%), respectively.
Other health problems also appear to be important in the determinants of depression. Although the survey did not include questions in which respondents could assess their health or indicate what they suffer from, they could count themselves among the group of pensioners in which at least mild symptoms of depression are manifested by nearly two-fifths (38.9%) and more serious ones by less than one-fifth (17.4%). It should be borne in mind that in the case of pensioners, health problems, in addition to the fact that they can affect the deterioration of social contacts, lower mobility, and other related phenomena, translate into a worse material situation. Among pensioners, more than twice as many as among the general population rate their material situation as bad (18.9% vs. 7.4%).
The category that stands out from the others with more frequent mild depressive symptoms are those who are economically inactive, taking care of the home, or not working for reasons other than pension, retirement, or study (34.2%). These people are not significantly worse off than the general population. It seems that in this case, a factor affecting mental health may be the lack of professional activity, which is also generally associated with interpersonal contacts and some social activity.
At least mild symptoms of depression stand out for residents of large (100,000 to 499,999 population) and largest (half-million and larger) cities. They affect about a third of them (for large cities, 31.1%, and the largest, 33.8%).
It is also worth noting the role of worldview and lifestyle factors. Respondents who identify with the left and are not involved in religious practices stand out from the rest with more frequent symptoms of depression. Among those with leftist views, about a third of respondents (32.0%) have at least mild symptoms of it, and 13.5% have more severe symptoms. Among those who do not participate in religious practices, the figures are 31.1% and 13.9%, respectively. However, it should be borne in mind that this relationship may to some extent be a function of age. The youngest respondents (18–24) are more likely to identify with the left (32.0% vs. 21.9%) and more likely not to be religiously involved (37.8% vs. 21.6%) than the general population.
Some differences can be observed in the extent of depression according to Internet use or nonuse. Mild or more severe symptoms are more common among those who are offline than among Internet users (31.0% vs. 24.1%).
There is also a disparity in the extent of depression between men and women. Mild or more severe symptoms of depression affect women more than men (29.7% vs. 21.1%). It should be borne in mind, however, that the disparity is not necessarily due to women's greater incidence of depression than men's but—perhaps more importantly—to the different degree to which they admit to their particular symptoms. When it comes to the more serious, or at least moderate, symptoms of depression, there is no significant difference by the gender of respondents. Table 2 reflects the abovementioned information and integrates them in the concise form which can be informative for further possible strategies.
Table 2.
Synthetic index of depression symptoms in Polish population (N = 3073).
| At least mild symptoms | At least moderate symptoms | Number of people | |
|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | ||
| Total | 25.8 | 9.4 | 3073 |
| Gender | |||
| Men | 21.1 | 7.3 | 1446 |
| Women | 29.7 | 11.1 | 1627 |
| Age (years) | |||
| 18–24 | 35.7 | 16.4 | 292 |
| 25–34 | 25.5 | 9.5 | 485 |
| 35–44 | 22.0 | 7.5 | 599 |
| 45–54 | 21.1 | 7.2 | 491 |
| 55–64 | 22.1 | 7.7 | 479 |
| 65 years and older | 30.4 | 10.5 | 727 |
| Place of residence | |||
| Village | 22.1 | 8.4 | 1262 |
| City to 19,999 | 26.5 | 10.1 | 399 |
| 20,000–99,999 | 24.8 | 7.5 | 672 |
| 100,000–499,999 | 31.1 | 12 | 442 |
| 500,000 or more residents | 33.8 | 12.4 | 299 |
| Education | |||
| Elementary/middle school | 28.4 | 12.8 | 467 |
| Basic vocational | 24.7 | 9.1 | 712 |
| Medium | 26.1 | 9.6 | 1093 |
| Higher | 24,6 | 7.3 | 800 |
| Social and professional group | |||
| Staff of managers, especially with higher education | 22.1 | 8.6 | 367 |
| Medium staff, technicians | 26.0 | 8.3 | 148 |
| Admin office employees | 26.9 | 8.0 | 219 |
| Service workers | 23.9 | 7.8 | 255 |
| Skilled workers | 13.5 | 5.4 | 351 |
| Unskilled laborers | 23.3 | 12.7 | 119 |
| Farmers | 18.3 | 3.7 | 134 |
| Self-employed | 14.6 | 3.6 | 132 |
| Unemployed | 28.6 | 11.7 | 52 |
| Retirees | 29.1 | 9.8 | 798 |
| Pensioners | 38.9 | 17.4 | 127 |
| Pupils and students | 39.9 | 20.1 | 154 |
| Homemakers and others | 34.2 | 11.4 | 217 |
| S/he works at: | |||
| Institute of state, public | 22.0 | 8.3 | 400 |
| A partnership of private owners and the state | 17.0 | 6.6 | 357 |
| Private sector, nonfarm | 23.4 | 8.7 | 843 |
| Private farming | 19.4 | 3.6 | 140 |
| Per capita income | |||
| Up to PLN 1499 | 34.1 | 13.5 | 489 |
| From PLN 1500 to PLN 999 | 28.4 | 12.7 | 418 |
| From PLN 2000 to PLN 2999 | 25.3 | 7.6 | 557 |
| From PLN 3000 to PLN 3999 | 29.9 | 11.1 | 302 |
| PLN 4000 and above | 24.9 | 8.2 | 320 |
| Hard to say | 22.0 | 8.7 | 412 |
| Refusal to answer | 18.0 | 5.3 | 575 |
| Evaluation of own material situation | |||
| Wrong | 50.3 | 24.0 | 227 |
| Medium | 30.5 | 11.3 | 1258 |
| Good | 18.5 | 5.8 | 1588 |
| Participation in religious practices | |||
| Several times a week | 29.3 | 13.1 | 147 |
| Once a week | 22.2 | 6.8 | 1120 |
| 1–2 times a month | 24.0 | 8.6 | 396 |
| Several times a year | 28.5 | 9.4 | 679 |
| Does not participate at all | 31.1 | 13.9 | 648 |
| Political views | |||
| Left | 32.0 | 13.5 | 647 |
| Center | 24.7 | 7.8 | 800 |
| Right | 23.7 | 7.2 | 1046 |
| Hard to say | 25.8 | 11.8 | 463 |
| Using the Internet | |||
| Yes | 24.1 | 8.3 | 2349 |
| Not | 31.0 | 12.5 | 704 |
Analyzing the symptom scale while controlling for the gender and age of respondents, it can be seen that young age increases the risk of depressive symptoms in both men and women. Women under the age of 25 stand out the most in terms of both mild and more severe symptoms. More than two-fifths of them (43.8%) show at least mild symptoms of depression, and more than one-fifth (22.7%) show moderate or more severe symptoms. The oldest group of women, those 65 and older (35.5%), also emerges as slightly more at risk for depression in this regard. Table 3 illustrates the abovementioned phenomena.
Table 3.
Synthetic index of depression symptoms in Polish population, age distribution (N = 3073).
| Age | At least mild symptoms | At least moderate symptoms | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men (%) | Women (%) | Men (%) | Women (%) | |
| 18–24 years | 29.3 | 43.8 | 11.0 | 22.7 |
| 25–34 | 20.8 | 30.1 | 6.9 | 12.1 |
| 35–44 | 18.6 | 24.5 | 7.6 | 7.5 |
| 45–54 | 15.9 | 25.5 | 4.3 | 9.7 |
| 55–64 | 19.4 | 24.5 | 6.8 | 8.6 |
| 65 years and older | 24.1 | 35.5 | 8.2 | 12.5 |
| Total | 21.1 | 29.7 | 7.3 | 11.1 |
Controlling for gender, it can be observed that while the size of the locality in which the respondents live is related to the risk of depression for men (the larger the locality, the higher the percentage of people with mild or more severe depressive symptoms), this does not play such a significant role among women. For more information about place of residence, gender and depression symptoms Table 4 are the reference point.
Table 4.
Synthetic index of depression symptoms in Polish population, place of residence distribution (N = 3073).
| Place of residence | At least mild symptoms | At least moderate symptoms | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men (%) | Women (%) | Men (%) | Women (%) | |
| Village | 16.4 | 27.6 | 6.3 | 10.4 |
| City to 19,999 | 20.8 | 31.2 | 7.9 | 12.2 |
| 20,000–99,999 | 21.2 | 27.9 | 5.2 | 9.6 |
| 100,000–499,999 | 27.8 | 34.2 | 9.1 | 14.6 |
| 500,000 or more inhabitants | 32.4 | 34.6 | 13.2 | 11.7 |
| Total | 21.1 | 29.7 | 7.3 | 11.1 |
A material situation perceived subjectively as bad increases the risk of depression for both men and women. Table 5 is an illustration of the abovementioned assessment of own material conditions in the context of depression.
Table 5.
Synthetic index of depression symptoms in Polish population, self-assessed material conditions distribution (N = 3073).
| Assessment of own material conditions | At least mild symptoms | At least moderate symptoms | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men (%) | Women (%) | Men (%) | Women (%) | |
| Bad | 45.9 | 53.9 | 20.2 | 27.3 |
| Medium | 25.2 | 34.6 | 9.1 | 13.0 |
| Good | 15.2 | 21.8 | 4.4 | 7.0 |
| Total | 21.1 | 29.7 | 7.3 | 11.1 |
As for the worldview characteristics of respondents by gender expressed in Table 6, it can be noted that left-wing beliefs co-occur with a slightly higher than average incidence of experiencing depressive symptoms in both men and women. In contrast, as expressed in Table 7, the lack of religious commitment noticeably increases the risk of experiencing depressive symptoms for women. In the case of men, there is less such significance.
Table 6.
Synthetic index of depression symptoms in Polish population, political view distribution (N = 3073).
| Political views | At least mild symptoms | At least moderate symptoms | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men (%) | Women (%) | Men (%) | Women (%) | |
| Left | 26.8 | 35.7 | 10.8 | 15.3 |
| Center | 19.9 | 28.6 | 6.6 | 8.8 |
| Right | 20.9 | 27.5 | 5.4 | 9.7 |
| Total | 21.1 | 29.7 | 7.3 | 11.1 |
Table 7.
Synthetic index of depression symptoms in Polish population, participation in religious practice distribution (N = 3073).
| Participation in religious practices | At least mild symptoms | At least moderate symptoms | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men (%) | Women (%) | Men (%) | Women (%) | |
| Several times a week | 22.2 | 31.5 | 11.1 | 14.3 |
| Once a week | 17.9 | 25.7 | 4.3 | 8.8 |
| 1–2 times a month | 19.7 | 27.7 | 8.2 | 8.9 |
| Several times a year | 24.6 | 32.7 | 8.0 | 10.9 |
| Does not participate at all | 24.0 | 39.1 | 10.4 | 17.9 |
| Total | 21.1 | 29.7 | 7.3 | 11.1 |
From logistic regression analysis, in which the dependent variable is the presence of at least moderate depressive symptoms (or lack thereof) and the independent variables, gender, age, place of residence, and assessment of one's own financial situation and pensioner status, it shows that the risk of depression is statistically significantly increased by poor financial situation (with respect to average/good odds ratio of 3.485), age 18–24 (with respect to older respondents, the odds quotient is 2.395), being a pensioner (odds quotient = 2.194), being a woman (odds quotient = 1.660), and living in a large city (100,000 and larger relative to smaller towns, odds quotient = 1.534). If the same model is applied separately to both genders, for men, poor financial situation (odds ratio = 3.629), being on a pension (odds ratio = 2.421), living in a large city (odds ratio = 1.890), and young age (odds ratio = 1.877) are statistically significant. For women, the hierarchy of determinants is slightly different. Poor material situation also ranks first (odds ratio = 3.400), but this is followed—unlike among men—by young age (odds ratio = 2.846), being on a pension (odds ratio = 1.995), and living in a large city (odds ratio = 1.355).
Apart from the abovementioned tables and figures, there are appendix tables following the text. Table A1 provides essential data on PHQ-8 depression index, whereas Tables A2, A3, A4, A5, A6, A7, A8, and A9 reflect PHQ-8 eight symptoms referred to sociodemographic variables. They have no direct reference in the text; however, they are valuable addition for interested stakeholders who would like to focus their research or policy work on the depression symptoms.
4. Discussion
The PHQ-8 and PHQ-9 are commonly used measures for screening depression in primary care settings. A study by Kokoszka, Jastrzębska, and Obrębski [13] evaluated the psychometric properties of the PHQ-9 in primary care settings in Poland, finding that it had good internal consistency, test–retest reliability, and criterion validity. This study suggests that the PHQ-9 is a useful tool for assessing depression in primary care in Poland. The PHQ-8 could be a useful alternative to the longer PHQ-9 in settings where time and resources are limited. These measures can help identify patients who may benefit from further evaluation or treatment for depression. Clinicians in Poland can use either of these measures to efficiently and effectively screen for depression in primary care settings.
With our current three waves, the clinicians in Poland and beyond may be better prepared to understand the symptoms in general population and refer them better for their clinical practice. The methodology of the current study uses CAPI, CAWI, and CATI which is a powerful methodological tool, inclusive for all adult age groups. The young adult group (18–24) may be distinguished, with higher prevalence of depressive symptoms than the general populations. From other studies, we know that depression may coexist with other common illnesses related with other age groups, such as migraine, which may also be reflected in the guideline-oriented treatment of depression in national healthcare systems contexts. Based on the Polish large cohort study, depression was found in more than 21% of respondents [14]. This result is in line with the PHQ-8 screening performed in the current study; the details of both data sets may need to be compared in a yet separate future study. However, even at the current stage, the results may apply to highlighting the need of combined screening and clinical procedures, including PHQ-9 and following its results to introduce further clinical procedures to focus on comorbidities. According to the first epidemiological surveys assessing the mental health of Poles, EZOP I and EZOP II (2012 and 2020) based on WHO methodology (ICD 10; DSM 4 and 5), depressive disorder affects less than 4% of Polish population [15]. From the German public health context, we know that the overall agreement between both measures, PHQ-9 and CIDI, was moderate [16], which opens field of debate about the gap between initial screening and clinical diagnosis of depression as measured by both tools.
Nevertheless, the PHQ-based approach has been recognized in official guidelines of the General Chamber of Physicians and Polish Psychiatric Society in Poland as good screening methods in primary healthcare [11]. The information about prevalence of potential depressive symptoms in the population of Poland may be thus informative for healthcare policy and management, enabling smooth referral.
Since 2021, the pan-European multilanguage noncommercial iFightDepression.eu website, cofunded by the European Commission's Third Health Program, enables self-testing of Poles using PHQ-9. Given the seasonality of depressive symptoms as measured with PHQ-8, one can imagine the website becoming part of national healthcare referral system, in accordance with the abovementioned guidelines for primary healthcare and family medicine. Self-testing and bringing the PHQ-9 screening result by patient may save time in general practitioner's office, leading to more relevant treatment. PHQ-2, PHQ-8, or PHQ-9 screening is not equivalent of clinical diagnosis, but it is relevant for Polish healthcare integrating with the emerging European Health Union, constituted also by the EU new comprehensive approach to mental health.
Given the prevalence of PHQ-measured depressive symptoms in the population of Poland, the health policy may be eager to apply large-scale and low intensiveness interventions such as World Health Organization's Self Help + (SH+) or Problem Management + (PM+) booklets, which contain modules referring to self-management (but in no case self-treatment) of mild-to-moderate depressive symptoms. The WHO mhGAP intervention recently introduced to Poland may also be a good policy solution, activating primary healthcare in response to mental health symptomatology prevalence in the population.
Digital mental health tools addressing depression symptomatology, in addition to treatment as usual, already exist in the Germany, the Poland's Western neighbor. According to a recent study, the most frequently recommended e-mental health interventions by specialist doctors were deprexis (currently the only one covered by health insurance), whereas moodgym was most often recommended by GPs and iFightDepression by clinicians and psychotherapists [17]. One can imagine Polish healthcare system to follow similar route and introduce digital tools, integrating them with referrals system. The first one to date has been clinically tested abovementioned EU-funded intervention iFightDepression, guided tool based on cognitive behavioral principles and PHQ-9 monitoring over time [18]. Introducing such tools on a mass scale, leading to better psychoeducation in society, can be a policy response to the challenge of mass depression symptoms. Controlling sociodemographic variables during such intervention, both in public communication and clinical settings, seems to be a prerequisite for relevance of the intervention.
Identifying and referring individuals to care using PHQ-9 or its shorter versions may also require community-based approach, such as alliances against depression mentioned by Linskens et al. [19] as the most promising multistrategy intervention among those involving, inter alia, community screening for depression using leaflets. Such approach has also been recently introduced in Poland with the local awareness raising of public mental health in the capital city of Poland through launch of local alliance against depression [20]. Given the relatively big percent of declared symptoms, PHQ health questionnaires could be widely distributed on the leaflets but also on the posters or other out-of-home media, during such future interventions in Poland. It would certainly support the referral system to proper care, recently advanced in Poland with building over 100 of the community mental health centers which attempt at community-level, deinstitutionalized interventions for public mental health.
The current study approach to PHQ-based self-testing and screening, expressed in the set of interrelated tables with the study results, may lead policy analysts to build strategic recommendations toward depression, based on sociodemographic criteria and also variables less usual in public healthcare approach, such as position in class structure, political orientation, or religious practices. It will also be informative for European-level health and social policy, as mental health is the emerging topic to be addressed across policies.
Table 8.
Synthetic index of depression symptoms in Polish population, distribution (N = 3073).
| Sociodemographic variables | Depression index (recorded) | Number of people | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lack of symptoms | Mild symptoms | Moderate symptoms | Moderately severe symptoms | Severe symptoms | Refusal to answer | ||
| % | % | % | % | % | % | ||
| Total | 68.6 | 16.4 | 5.5 | 2.7 | 1.2 | 5.6 | 3073 |
| Gender | |||||||
| Men | 73.4 | 13.8 | 4.7 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 5.5 | 1446 |
| Women | 64.4 | 18.6 | 6.1 | 3.6 | 1.4 | 5.8 | 1627 |
| Age (years) | |||||||
| 18–24 | 59.8 | 19.3 | 9.2 | 5.4 | 1.8 | 4.5 | 292 |
| 25–34 | 69.3 | 16.0 | 4.4 | 2.8 | 2.3 | 5.2 | 485 |
| 35–44 | 72.2 | 14.5 | 5.6 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 5.8 | 599 |
| 45–54 | 73.4 | 13.9 | 4.5 | 2.1 | 0.6 | 5.6 | 491 |
| 55–64 | 72.4 | 14.4 | 4.1 | 2.3 | 1.3 | 5.4 | 479 |
| 65 years and older | 63.2 | 19.9 | 6.2 | 3.2 | 1.1 | 6.3 | 727 |
| Place of residence | |||||||
| Village | 73.3 | 13.7 | 4.8 | 2.4 | 1.2 | 4.5 | 1262 |
| City to 19,999 | 69.1 | 16.4 | 5.8 | 3.6 | 0.7 | 4.4 | 399 |
| 20,000–99,999 | 68.3 | 17.3 | 3.8 | 2.3 | 1.4 | 6.8 | 672 |
| 100,000–499,999 | 62.7 | 19.1 | 7.6 | 2.8 | 1.6 | 6.2 | 442 |
| 500,000 or more residents | 57.8 | 21.4 | 8.4 | 3.2 | 0.8 | 8.4 | 299 |
| Education | |||||||
| Elementary/middle school | 64.9 | 15.6 | 6.0 | 4.3 | 2.5 | 6.6 | 467 |
| Basic vocational | 71.1 | 15.6 | 5.6 | 1.9 | 1.6 | 4.3 | 712 |
| Medium | 68.3 | 16.5 | 5.6 | 3.2 | 0.8 | 5.5 | 1093 |
| Higher | 69.1 | 17.3 | 4.9 | 1.8 | 0.6 | 6.4 | 800 |
| Social and professional group | |||||||
| Staff of managers, especially with higher education | 73.5 | 13.5 | 5.9 | 1.5 | 1.2 | 4.2 | 367 |
| Medium staff, technicians | 71.6 | 17.7 | 4.7 | 2.4 | 1.2 | 2.5 | 148 |
| Admin office employees | 68.0 | 18.9 | 5.4 | 2.6 | — | 5.0 | 219 |
| Service workers | 69.5 | 16.1 | 3.8 | 2.9 | 1.1 | 6.6 | 255 |
| Skilled workers | 80.8 | 8.1 | 2.9 | 1.6 | 0.9 | 5.7 | 351 |
| Unskilled laborers | 73.2 | 10.6 | 10.7 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 3.4 | 119 |
| Farmers | 75.4 | 14.6 | 3.0 | 0.7 | — | 6.3 | 134 |
| Self-employed | 80.2 | 11.0 | 0.7 | 1.8 | 1.1 | 5.3 | 132 |
| Unemployed | 66.0 | 16.9 | 5.6 | 3.3 | 2.8 | 5.5 | 52 |
| Retirees | 65.0 | 19.3 | 5.6 | 3.2 | 1.0 | 5.9 | 798 |
| Pensioners | 55.1 | 21.5 | 10.8 | 4.0 | 2.6 | 5.9 | 127 |
| Pupils and students | 52.6 | 19.8 | 12.2 | 6.8 | 1.1 | 7.4 | 154 |
| Homemakers and others | 57.8 | 22.8 | 4.7 | 3.1 | 3.6 | 8.0 | 217 |
| S/he works at: | |||||||
| Institute of state, public | 73.2 | 13.7 | 5.7 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 4.7 | 400 |
| A partnership of private owners and the state | 77.2 | 10.4 | 4.4 | 2.2 | — | 5.9 | 357 |
| Private sector, nonfarm | 72.1 | 14.7 | 4.8 | 2.7 | 1.2 | 4.6 | 843 |
| Private farming | 74.6 | 15.8 | 2.9 | 0.7 | — | 6.1 | 140 |
| Per capita income | |||||||
| Up to PLN 1499 | 61.6 | 20.6 | 6.4 | 4.3 | 2.8 | 4.3 | 489 |
| From PLN 1500 to PLN 999 | 69.6 | 15.7 | 6.0 | 6.1 | 0.6 | 2.0 | 418 |
| From PLN 2000 to PLN 2999 | 71.1 | 17.7 | 4.9 | 1.6 | 1.1 | 3.5 | 557 |
| From PLN 3000 to PLN 3999 | 67.1 | 18.8 | 8.1 | 3.0 | — | 3.1 | 302 |
| PLN 4000 and above | 70.9 | 16.7 | 4.7 | 2.2 | 1.3 | 4.2 | 320 |
| Hard to say | 70.0 | 13.3 | 5.5 | 1.5 | 1.7 | 8.0 | 412 |
| Refusal to answer | 70.3 | 12.7 | 3.9 | .9 | 0.5 | 11.7 | 575 |
| Evaluation of own material situation | |||||||
| Bad | 44.2 | 26.3 | 8.4 | 8.7 | 6.9 | 5.5 | 227 |
| Medium | 61.8 | 19.2 | 7.3 | 2.8 | 1.2 | 7.8 | 1258 |
| Good | 77.6 | 12.7 | 3.6 | 1.8 | 0.4 | 3.9 | 1588 |
| Participation in religious practices | |||||||
| Several times a week | 65.0 | 16.2 | 7.1 | 6.0 | — | 5.7 | 147 |
| Once a week | 73.7 | 15.4 | 3.9 | 1.9 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 1120 |
| 1–2 times a month | 72.3 | 15.4 | 4.7 | 3.0 | 0.9 | 3.8 | 396 |
| Several times a year | 66.9 | 19.1 | 6.6 | 1.9 | 0.9 | 4.6 | 679 |
| Does not participate at all | 63.5 | 17.2 | 7.4 | 4.3 | 2.2 | 5.4 | 648 |
| Political views | |||||||
| Left | 64.7 | 18.5 | 8.2 | 4.4 | 0.9 | 3.3 | 647 |
| Center | 71.2 | 16.9 | 4.6 | 1.8 | 1.4 | 4.3 | 800 |
| Right | 72.3 | 16.5 | 4.1 | 2.2 | 0.9 | 3.9 | 1046 |
| Hard to say | 66.9 | 14.0 | 6.4 | 3.2 | 2.2 | 7.4 | 463 |
Table 9.
PHQ-8 depression symptoms in Polish population distribution, item 1/8 (N = 3073).
| Sociodemographic variables | How often have the following problems bothered you in the past 2 weeks? Feeling little interest in the activities you are doing or experiencing little pleasure in doing them | Number of people | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| They did not tease at all or for 1 day | For several days | For more than half of the days | Almost every day | Refusal to answer | ||
| % | % | % | % | % | ||
| Total | 67.9 | 17.5 | 4.6 | 6.1 | 3.9 | 3073 |
| Gender | ||||||
| Men | 70.6 | 16.1 | 4.1 | 5.3 | 4.0 | 1446 |
| Women | 65.4 | 18.7 | 5.1 | 6.9 | 3.9 | 1627 |
| Age (years) | ||||||
| 18–24 | 57.1 | 20.6 | 10.8 | 7.5 | 4.1 | 292 |
| 25–34 | 63.6 | 20.2 | 3.9 | 8.1 | 4.3 | 485 |
| 35–44 | 69.1 | 16.3 | 3.7 | 6.8 | 4.1 | 599 |
| 45–54 | 70.1 | 17.5 | 3.8 | 4.8 | 3.8 | 491 |
| 55–64 | 71.1 | 17.7 | 3.6 | 4.9 | 2.7 | 479 |
| 65 years and older | 70.3 | 15.3 | 4.5 | 5.5 | 4.3 | 727 |
| Place of residence | ||||||
| Village | 69.4 | 17.5 | 4.5 | 5.3 | 3.3 | 1262 |
| City to 19,999 | 70.2 | 15.4 | 4.1 | 7.1 | 3.1 | 399 |
| 20,000–99,999 | 70.2 | 16.7 | 3.9 | 4.8 | 4.4 | 672 |
| 100,000–499,999 | 65.0 | 19.2 | 5.2 | 7.0 | 3.6 | 442 |
| 500,000 or more residents | 56.9 | 19.8 | 6.4 | 10.2 | 6.7 | 299 |
| Education | ||||||
| Elementary/middle school | 67.1 | 17.2 | 5.0 | 6.6 | 4.1 | 467 |
| Basic vocational | 70.1 | 17.5 | 3.3 | 6.1 | 3.1 | 712 |
| Medium | 67.5 | 16.9 | 5.1 | 6.5 | 4.0 | 1093 |
| Higher | 66.8 | 18.5 | 4.9 | 5.5 | 4.3 | 800 |
| Social and professional group | ||||||
| Staff of managers, especially with higher education | 68.1 | 16.3 | 6.1 | 6.8 | 2.6 | 367 |
| Medium staff, technicians | 71.3 | 14.5 | 7.7 | 4.1 | 2.5 | 148 |
| Admin office employees | 64.2 | 23.6 | 4.7 | 5.1 | 2.4 | 219 |
| Service workers | 69.5 | 16.4 | 4.3 | 5.0 | 4.7 | 255 |
| Skilled workers | 73.3 | 15.6 | 2.2 | 4.9 | 4.0 | 351 |
| Unskilled laborers | 68.0 | 19.6 | 4.5 | 4.6 | 3.4 | 119 |
| Farmers | 70.6 | 14.1 | 4.9 | 5.4 | 5.1 | 134 |
| Self-employed | 74.5 | 13.8 | 1.8 | 5.1 | 4.7 | 132 |
| Unemployed | 64.1 | 19.0 | — | 12.3 | 4.7 | 52 |
| Retirees | 69.9 | 16.5 | 4.4 | 5.3 | 3.8 | 798 |
| Pensioners | 61.4 | 20.0 | 5.5 | 8.7 | 4.5 | 127 |
| Pupils and students | 47.3 | 23.6 | 13.7 | 7.9 | 7.4 | 154 |
| Homemakers and others | 63.6 | 20.4 | 0.8 | 11.2 | 4.0 | 217 |
| S/he works at: | ||||||
| Institute of state, public | 69.2 | 17.6 | 6.0 | 4.4 | 2.7 | 400 |
| A partnership of private owners and the state | 74.4 | 14.7 | 2.2 | 4.4 | 4.2 | 357 |
| Private sector, nonfarm | 66.7 | 18.1 | 5.3 | 6.5 | 3.5 | 843 |
| Private farming | 69.6 | 14.9 | 4.1 | 6.5 | 4.9 | 140 |
| Per capita income | ||||||
| Up to PLN 1499 | 62.5 | 19.0 | 6.2 | 9.5 | 2.7 | 489 |
| From PLN 1500 to PLN 999 | 67.3 | 18.7 | 5.5 | 7.3 | 1.1 | 418 |
| From PLN 2000 to PLN 2999 | 69.0 | 19.6 | 4.4 | 4.7 | 2.2 | 557 |
| From PLN 3000 to PLN 3999 | 66.6 | 20.4 | 5.4 | 5.2 | 2.5 | 302 |
| PLN 4000 and above | 68.6 | 16.5 | 5.4 | 6.5 | 3.0 | 320 |
| Hard to say | 70.8 | 14.7 | 2.6 | 6.1 | 5.9 | 412 |
| Refusal to answer | 69.8 | 14.4 | 3.4 | 4.1 | 8.2 | 575 |
| Evaluation of own material situation | ||||||
| Bad | 45.4 | 26.0 | 9.0 | 16.3 | 3.2 | 227 |
| Medium | 63.2 | 18.5 | 5.2 | 7.9 | 5.2 | 1258 |
| Good | 74.7 | 15.5 | 3.6 | 3.3 | 2.9 | 1588 |
| Participation in religious practices | ||||||
| Several times a week | 70.3 | 9.5 | 6.9 | 8.7 | 4.6 | 147 |
| Once a week | 73.0 | 15.7 | 3.9 | 4.8 | 2.6 | 1120 |
| 1–2 times a month | 68.2 | 16.6 | 6.0 | 6.5 | 2.7 | 396 |
| Several times a year | 65.7 | 21.2 | 4.4 | 5.6 | 3.2 | 679 |
| Does not participate at all | 63.9 | 20.3 | 5.1 | 7.9 | 2.8 | 648 |
| Political views | ||||||
| Left | 64.6 | 20.2 | 5.7 | 8.1 | 1.5 | 647 |
| Center | 69.2 | 17.2 | 4.6 | 5.6 | 3.3 | 800 |
| Right | 70.5 | 17.6 | 4.7 | 4.4 | 2.8 | 1046 |
| Hard to say | 68.9 | 16.0 | 3.2 | 7.8 | 4.1 | 463 |
Table 10.
PHQ-8 depression symptoms in Polish population distribution, item 2/8 (N = 3073).
| Sociodemographic variables | How often have the following problems bothered you in the past 2 weeks? Feelings of sadness, depression, or hopelessness | Number of people | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| They did not tease at all or for 1 day | For several days | For more than half of the days | Almost every day | Refusal to answer | ||
| % | % | % | % | % | ||
| Total | 65.8 | 21.6 | 5.0 | 5.6 | 2.0 | 3073 |
| Gender | ||||||
| Men | 70.6 | 18.9 | 4.2 | 4.4 | 1.9 | 1446 |
| Women | 61.5 | 24.0 | 5.7 | 6.6 | 2.2 | 1627 |
| Age | ||||||
| 18–24 years | 55.7 | 26.9 | 7.5 | 7.8 | 2.0 | 292 |
| 25–34 | 66.2 | 21.5 | 4.3 | 6.0 | 1.9 | 485 |
| 35–44 | 73.2 | 17.1 | 3.8 | 3.5 | 2.3 | 599 |
| 45–54 | 68.8 | 21.1 | 3.7 | 4.0 | 2.4 | 491 |
| 55–64 | 65.9 | 22.0 | 4.8 | 5.2 | 2.1 | 479 |
| 65 years and older | 61.3 | 23.3 | 6.4 | 7.3 | 1.6 | 727 |
| Place of residence | ||||||
| Village | 68.9 | 20.8 | 3.9 | 5.1 | 1.2 | 1262 |
| City to 19,999 | 67.1 | 20.6 | 4.5 | 6.7 | 1.1 | 399 |
| 20,000–99,999 | 66.7 | 19.3 | 6.0 | 4.8 | 3.3 | 672 |
| 100,000–499,999 | 61.6 | 24.3 | 6.5 | 5.9 | 1.7 | 442 |
| 500,000 or more residents | 54.9 | 27.8 | 5.8 | 7.2 | 4.4 | 299 |
| Education | ||||||
| Elementary/middle school | 60.2 | 24.3 | 7.4 | 6.7 | 1.5 | 467 |
| Basic vocational | 67.8 | 21.5 | 3.9 | 5.8 | 1.0 | 712 |
| Medium | 65.6 | 20.6 | 5.3 | 6.1 | 2.4 | 1093 |
| Higher | 67.6 | 21.5 | 4.1 | 3.9 | 2.8 | 800 |
| Social and professional group | ||||||
| Staff of managers, especially with higher education | 70.6 | 19.0 | 5.8 | 3.1 | 1.5 | 367 |
| Medium staff, technicians | 70.7 | 18.9 | 3.9 | 5.7 | 0.8 | 148 |
| Admin office employees | 65.6 | 23.2 | 5.0 | 3.4 | 2.7 | 219 |
| Service workers | 64.9 | 25.6 | 2.5 | 4.6 | 2.4 | 255 |
| Skilled workers | 75.7 | 17.6 | 1.7 | 3.8 | 1.3 | 351 |
| Unskilled laborers | 66.4 | 20.7 | 7.6 | 4.3 | 1.1 | 119 |
| Farmers | 76.2 | 14.0 | 5.6 | 3.2 | 1.0 | 134 |
| Self-employed | 77.6 | 15.1 | 1.7 | 3.9 | 1.7 | 132 |
| Unemployed | 50.7 | 35.9 | 2.4 | 8.7 | 2.3 | 52 |
| Retirees | 62.0 | 23.5 | 5.7 | 7.2 | 1.6 | 798 |
| Pensioners | 51.6 | 24.0 | 11.1 | 9.8 | 3.5 | 127 |
| Pupils and students | 52.1 | 25.8 | 7.4 | 10.0 | 4.7 | 154 |
| Homemakers and others | 61.0 | 22.5 | 5.6 | 6.6 | 4.3 | 217 |
| S/he works at: | ||||||
| Institute of state, public | 70.9 | 20.0 | 4.6 | 2.7 | 1.8 | 400 |
| A partnership of private owners and the state | 72.5 | 20.4 | 1.8 | 3.8 | 1.5 | 357 |
| Private sector, nonfarm | 68.0 | 19.6 | 5.3 | 4.9 | 2.2 | 843 |
| Private farming | 77.7 | 12.9 | 5.3 | 3.1 | 1.0 | 140 |
| Per capita income | ||||||
| Up to PLN 1499 | 57.7 | 24.1 | 6.9 | 9.7 | 1.6 | 489 |
| From PLN 1500 to PLN 999 | 66.2 | 21.5 | 5.9 | 6.5 | — | 418 |
| From PLN 2000 to PLN 2999 | 66.7 | 24.2 | 4.8 | 3.7 | 0.7 | 557 |
| From PLN 3000 to PLN 3999 | 65.5 | 22.6 | 5.9 | 5.3 | 0.7 | 302 |
| PLN 4000 and above | 67.2 | 20.5 | 5.3 | 6.0 | 1.0 | 320 |
| Hard to say | 67.6 | 20.4 | 4.2 | 5.2 | 2.6 | 412 |
| Refusal to answer | 69.6 | 18.1 | 3.0 | 3.4 | 6.0 | 575 |
| Evaluation of own material situation | ||||||
| Bad | 40.5 | 31.6 | 11.1 | 15.6 | 1.1 | 227 |
| Medium | 57.8 | 26.5 | 5.8 | 7.1 | 2.8 | 1258 |
| Good | 75.7 | 16.3 | 3.5 | 2.9 | 1.5 | 1588 |
| Participation in religious practices | ||||||
| Several times a week | 63.8 | 22.5 | 7.2 | 6.1 | 0.4 | 147 |
| Once a week | 69.7 | 20.1 | 4.1 | 5.1 | 1.1 | 1120 |
| 1–2 times a month | 67.2 | 23.2 | 4.9 | 4.5 | 0.1 | 396 |
| Several times a year | 67.1 | 20.9 | 5.6 | 4.7 | 1.7 | 679 |
| Does not participate at all | 59.9 | 24.2 | 6.0 | 8.1 | 1.8 | 648 |
| Political views | ||||||
| Left | 60.3 | 25.4 | 6.1 | 7.3 | 0.9 | 647 |
| Center | 67.0 | 21.8 | 5.0 | 4.9 | 1.4 | 800 |
| Right | 70.0 | 20.6 | 4.4 | 3.9 | 1.1 | 1046 |
| Hard to say | 65.7 | 18.9 | 5.8 | 7.7 | 1.9 | 463 |
Table 11.
PHQ-8 depression symptoms in Polish population distribution, item 3/8 (N = 3073).
| Sociodemographic variables | How often have the following problems bothered you in the past 2 weeks? Trouble sleeping or intermittent sleep or sleeping too much | Number of people | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| They did not tease at all or for 1 day | For several days | For more than half of the days | Almost every day | Refusal to answer | ||
| % | % | % | % | % | ||
| Total | 60.0 | 20.3 | 6.8 | 11.4 | 1.6 | 3073 |
| Gender | ||||||
| Men | 65.4 | 18.9 | 5.9 | 8.3 | 1.5 | 1446 |
| Women | 55.3 | 21.5 | 7.5 | 14.1 | 1.6 | 1627 |
| Age | ||||||
| 18–24 years | 59.6 | 20.0 | 6.5 | 11.6 | 2.3 | 292 |
| 25–34 | 63.3 | 18.2 | 6.0 | 10.9 | 1.5 | 485 |
| 35–44 | 64.4 | 20.2 | 4.1 | 9.5 | 1.8 | 599 |
| 45–54 | 64.6 | 19.9 | 7.2 | 6.8 | 1.5 | 491 |
| 55–64 | 61.1 | 19.4 | 6.8 | 10.8 | 2.0 | 479 |
| 65 years and older | 5.6 | 22.6 | 9.2 | 16.7 | 0.8 | 727 |
| Place of residence | ||||||
| Village | 62.8 | 20.6 | 5.1 | 10.1 | 1.3 | 1262 |
| City to 19,999 | 63.3 | 19.3 | 5.3 | 11.4 | 0.7 | 399 |
| 20,000–99,999 | 58.9 | 18.7 | 7.7 | 12.4 | 2.3 | 672 |
| 100,000–499,999 | 56.4 | 19.6 | 9.4 | 13.4 | 1.2 | 442 |
| 500,000 or more residents | 51.6 | 24.6 | 9.5 | 11.6 | 2.7 | 299 |
| Education | ||||||
| Elementary/middle school | 56.7 | 19.8 | 6.7 | 15.8 | 1.0 | 467 |
| Basic vocational | 62.8 | 19.6 | 6.0 | 11.1 | 0.5 | 712 |
| Medium | 59.6 | 20.5 | 7.2 | 10.6 | 2.2 | 1093 |
| Higher | 60.0 | 20.9 | 6.9 | 10.3 | 1.9 | 800 |
| Social and professional group | ||||||
| Staff of managers, especially with higher education | 61.0 | 21.4 | 6.8 | 9.2 | 1.6 | 367 |
| Medium staff, technicians | 62.7 | 19.1 | 8.3 | 9.9 | — | 148 |
| Admin office employees | 62.2 | 17.9 | 7.2 | 10.2 | 2.4 | 219 |
| Service workers | 56.2 | 26.1 | 5.9 | 10.1 | 1.7 | 255 |
| Skilled workers | 70.5 | 18.4 | 3.4 | 6.1 | 1.7 | 351 |
| Unskilled laborers | 67.7 | 15.1 | 7.3 | 8.9 | 0.9 | 119 |
| Farmers | 68.4 | 18.6 | 7.1 | 5.0 | 1.0 | 134 |
| Self-employed | 72.3 | 18.5 | 1.8 | 5.7 | 1.7 | 132 |
| Unemployed | 67.2 | 11.7 | 4.2 | 15.5 | 1.5 | 52 |
| Retirees | 54.1 | 21.2 | 8.2 | 15.5 | 0.9 | 798 |
| Pensioners | 52.4 | 19.8 | 10.1 | 15.7 | 2.0 | 127 |
| Pupils and students | 55.9 | 22.4 | 6.9 | 11.1 | 3.7 | 154 |
| Homemakers and others | 52.2 | 20.2 | 7.4 | 17.6 | 2.5 | 217 |
| S/he works at: | ||||||
| Institute of state, public | 65.9 | 17.9 | 6.2 | 8.1 | 1.9 | 400 |
| A partnership of private owners and the state | 64.8 | 19.6 | 4.9 | 8.7 | 1.9 | 357 |
| Private sector, nonfarm | 62.7 | 21.5 | 5.6 | 8.7 | 1.5 | 843 |
| Private farming | 67.6 | 20.2 | 6.0 | 5.3 | 1.0 | 140 |
| Per capita income | ||||||
| Up to PLN 1499 | 53.0 | 21.1 | 8.3 | 16.6 | 1.0 | 489 |
| From PLN 1500 to PLN 999 | 58.9 | 20.6 | 7.4 | 12.9 | 0.2 | 418 |
| From PLN 2000 to PLN 2999 | 59.2 | 21.8 | 8.0 | 10.9 | .0.1 | 557 |
| From PLN 3000 to PLN 3999 | 56.7 | 23.2 | 6.6 | 13.3 | 0.2 | 302 |
| PLN 4000 and above | 59.4 | 23.4 | 7.2 | 8.9 | 1.2 | 320 |
| Hard to say | 65.4 | 15.8 | 5.8 | 11.0 | 2.0 | 412 |
| Refusal to answer | 65.9 | 17.9 | 4.2 | 7.1 | 4.8 | 575 |
| Evaluation of own material situation | ||||||
| Bad | 39.8 | 27.4 | 8.7 | 23.6 | 0.6 | 227 |
| Medium | 53.8 | 22.4 | 9.4 | 12.6 | 1.8 | 1258 |
| Good | 67.9 | 17.6 | 4,.4 | 8.7 | 1.4 | 1588 |
| Participation in religious practices | ||||||
| Several times a week | 53.8 | 18.8 | 8.0 | 18.3 | 1.2 | 147 |
| Once a week | 62.5 | 21.1 | 6.4 | 9.4 | .0.6 | 1120 |
| 1–2 times a month | 61.4 | 22.2 | 5.2 | 10.6 | 0.6 | 396 |
| Several times a year | 60.1 | 18.9 | 8.0 | 12.1 | 1.0 | 679 |
| Does not participate at all | 57.6 | 21.0 | 6.5 | 13.2 | 1.7 | 648 |
| Political views | ||||||
| Left | 54.6 | 24.6 | 8.9 | 11.4 | 0.5 | 647 |
| Center | 63.6 | 19.0 | 7.0 | 9.4 | 1.1 | 800 |
| Right | 61.9 | 20.1 | 6.0 | 11.2 | 0.8 | 1046 |
| Hard to say | 59.8 | 17.6 | 5.5 | 15.7 | 1.4 | 463 |
Table 12.
PHQ-8 depression symptoms in Polish population distribution, item 4/8 (N = 3073).
| Sociodemographic variables | How often have the following problems bothered you in the past 2 weeks? Feelings of fatigue or lack of energy | Number of people | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| They did not tease at all or for 1 day | For several days | For more than half of the days | Almost every day | Refusal to answer | ||
| % | % | % | % | % | ||
| Total | 45.5 | 33.8 | 8.8 | 10.3 | 1.6 | 3073 |
| Gender | ||||||
| Men | 50.4 | 31.7 | 8.8 | 7.5 | 1.4 | 1446 |
| Women | 41.2 | 35.6 | 8.8 | 12.7 | 1.7 | 1627 |
| Age (years) | ||||||
| 18–24 years | 43.2 | 28.5 | 14.4 | 12.0 | 1.9 | 292 |
| 25–34 | 45.4 | 31.3 | 9.3 | 12.7 | 1.3 | 485 |
| 35–44 | 47.8 | 32.7 | 7.9 | 9.3 | 2.2 | 599 |
| 45–54 | 44.4 | 38.2 | 7.8 | 8.0 | 1.6 | 491 |
| 55–64 | 48.6 | 34.7 | 5.2 | 10.0 | 1.5 | 479 |
| 65 years and older | 43.5 | 34.9 | 10.0 | 10.5 | 1.1 | 727 |
| Place of residence | ||||||
| Village | 47.6 | 35.1 | 6.6 | 9.7 | 1.0 | 1262 |
| City to 19,999 | 46.8 | 31.7 | 9.4 | 11.9 | 0.3 | 399 |
| 20,000–99,999 | 47.8 | 31.3 | 9.2 | 9,2 | 2,6 | 672 |
| 100,000–499,999 | 43.1 | 31.5 | 11.8 | 12.6 | 1,0 | 442 |
| 500,000 or more residents | 34.0 | 40.2 | 11.8 | 9.7 | 4,3 | 299 |
| Education | ||||||
| Elementary/middle school | 39.6 | 36.6 | 11.2 | 11.8 | 0.7 | 467 |
| Basic vocational | 50.5 | 30.6 | 7.6 | 10.8 | .0.6 | 712 |
| Medium | 46.1 | 34.0 | 8.4 | 9.5 | 2.0 | 1093 |
| Higher | 43.8 | 34.8 | 9.0 | 10.0 | 2.4 | 800 |
| Social and professional group | ||||||
| Staff of managers, especially with higher education | 44.2 | 34.1 | 9.4 | 11.1 | 1.2 | 367 |
| Medium staff, technicians | 45.3 | 31.9 | 12.3 | 10.5 | — | 148 |
| Admin office employees | 39,3 | 37,7 | 8.0 | 12.2 | 2.9 | 219 |
| Service workers | 44.8 | 38.0 | 7.8 | 8.0 | 1.5 | 255 |
| Skilled workers | 53.5 | 33.9 | 5.2 | 6.3 | 1.1 | 351 |
| Unskilled laborers | 38.1 | 41.9 | 12.4 | 7.6 | — | 119 |
| Farmers | 54.3 | 30.1 | 6.2 | 8.4 | 1.0 | 134 |
| Self-employed | 59.0 | 29.7 | 3.9 | 5.7 | 1.7 | 132 |
| Unemployed | 46.2 | 29.7 | 7.0 | 14.8 | 2.3 | 52 |
| Retirees | 45.3 | 34.1 | 9.0 | 10.3 | 1.2 | 798 |
| Pensioners | 36.7 | 31.2 | 12.1 | 17.1 | 2.9 | 127 |
| Pupils and students | 37.5 | 31.3 | 13.9 | 12.7 | 4.6 | 154 |
| Homemakers and others | 44.5 | 28.9 | 9.9 | 14.3 | 2.4 | 217 |
| S/he works at: | ||||||
| Institute of state, public | 45.7 | 35.0 | 9.3 | 8.7 | 1.3 | 400 |
| A partnership of private owners and the state | 49.1 | 35.4 | 7.0 | 7.2 | 1.3 | 357 |
| Private sector, nonfarm | 44.3 | 35.7 | 8.3 | 10.1 | 1.7 | 843 |
| Private farming | 54.7 | 29.6 | 4.5 | 10.2 | 1.0 | 140 |
| Per capita income | ||||||
| Up to PLN 1499 | 40.0 | 33.8 | 9.8 | 15.0 | 1.3 | 489 |
| From PLN 1500 to PLN 999 | 42.0 | 37.0 | 9.6 | 11.4 | — | 418 |
| From PLN 2000 to PLN 2999 | 47.0 | 35.5 | 8.8 | 8.5 | 0.3 | 557 |
| From PLN 3000 to PLN 3999 | 40.2 | 39.5 | 5.8 | 13.7 | 0.8 | 302 |
| PLN 4000 and above | 49.2 | 31.7 | 7.9 | 10.6 | 0.6 | 320 |
| Hard to say | 52.2 | 28.5 | 9.3 | 8.6 | 1.4 | 412 |
| Refusal to answer | 47.5 | 31.8 | 9.1 | 6.4 | 5.2 | 575 |
| Evaluation of own material situation | ||||||
| Bad | 29.6 | 29.6 | 15.8 | 23.7 | 1.3 | 227 |
| Medium | 38.5 | 36.6 | 10.8 | 11.9 | 2.2 | 1258 |
| Good | 53.5 | 32.2 | 6.2 | 7.1 | 1.1 | 1588 |
| Participation in religious practices | ||||||
| Several times a week | 42.7 | 32.3 | 7.4 | 16.5 | 1.2 | 147 |
| Once a week | 48.2 | 36.0 | 7.1 | 8.0 | 0.7 | 1120 |
| 1–2 times a month | 43.4 | 35,9 | 10.4 | 10.3 | — | 396 |
| Several times a year | 43.8 | 35.1 | 10.7 | 9.4 | 1.1 | 679 |
| Does not participate at all | 45.7 | 28.9 | 9.7 | 14.3 | 1.3 | 648 |
| Political views | ||||||
| Left | 43.8 | 30.7 | 10.3 | 14.8 | 0.4 | 647 |
| Center | 45.4 | 37.1 | 9.4 | 7.2 | 0.9 | 800 |
| Right | 47.1 | 36.0 | 7.5 | 8.4 | 1.0 | 1046 |
| Hard to say | 47.4 | 28.2 | 9.8 | 13.1 | 1.6 | 463 |
Table 13.
PHQ-8 depression symptoms in Polish population distribution, item 5/8 (N = 3073).
| Sociodemographic variables | How often have the following problems bothered you in the past 2 weeks? Lack of appetite or overeating | Number of people | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| They did not tease at all or for 1 day | For several days | For more than half of the days | Almost every day | Refusal to answer | ||
| % | % | % | % | % | ||
| Total | 83.1 | 9.4 | 3.2 | 2.9 | 1.5 | 3073 |
| Gender | ||||||
| Men | 85.2 | 8.4 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 1.4 | 1446 |
| Women | 81.2 | 10.2 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 1.6 | 1627 |
| Age (years) | ||||||
| 18–24 | 75.9 | 12.2 | 4.8 | 5.2 | 1.9 | 292 |
| 25–34 | 80.2 | 10.1 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 1.6 | 485 |
| 35–44 | 84.7 | 9.5 | 2.7 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 599 |
| 45–54 | 85.1 | 8.6 | 3.5 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 491 |
| 55–64 | 84.8 | 8.9 | 1.8 | 2.6 | 1.9 | 479 |
| 65 years and older | 84.0 | 8.4 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 0.9 | 727 |
| Place of residence | ||||||
| Village | 84.8 | 8.6 | 2.5 | 3.3 | 0.9 | 1262 |
| City to 19,999 | 82.6 | 9.1 | 4.5 | 3.3 | 0.5 | 399 |
| 20,000–99,999 | 83.5 | 8.6 | 3.0 | 2.4 | 2.5 | 672 |
| 100,000–499,999 | 81.8 | 11.1 | 3.3 | 2.7 | 1.0 | 442 |
| 500,000 or more residents | 77.6 | 11.9 | 5.1 | 1.9 | 3.6 | 299 |
| Education | ||||||
| Elementary/middle school | 79.4 | 12.2 | 3.8 | 4.1 | 0.5 | 467 |
| Basic vocational | 84.9 | 9.0 | 3.0 | 2.4 | 0.7 | 712 |
| Medium | 83.3 | 8.5 | 3.1 | 3.1 | 2.0 | 1093 |
| Higher | 83.3 | 9.2 | 3.2 | 2.2 | 2.0 | 800 |
| Social and professional group | ||||||
| Staff of managers, especially with higher education | 82.6 | 10.1 | 3.6 | 2.5 | 1.2 | 367 |
| Medium staff, technicians | 83.7 | 9.1 | 5.2 | 2.1 | — | 148 |
| Admin office employees | 84.7 | 8.9 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 1.4 | 219 |
| Service workers | 85.1 | 7.8 | 2.6 | 3.4 | 1.2 | 255 |
| Skilled workers | 85.9 | 9.0 | 2.0 | 1.4 | 1.7 | 351 |
| Unskilled laborers | 79.1 | 13.6 | 4.8 | 1.6 | 0.9 | 119 |
| Farmers | 88.2 | 8.9 | 1.9 | — | 1.0 | 134 |
| Self-employed | 85.0 | 7.7 | 1.1 | 4.5 | 1.7 | 132 |
| Unemployed | 80.3 | 11.4 | — | 6.7 | 1.6 | 52 |
| Retirees | 85.0 | 7.7 | 3.2 | 2.8 | 1.2 | 798 |
| Pensioners | 76.5 | 9.0 | 4.7 | 7.8 | 2.0 | 127 |
| Pupils and students | 70.3 | 15.0 | 6.6 | 4.2 | 3.9 | 154 |
| Homemakers and others | 79.2 | 12.0 | 2.7 | 3.7 | 2.4 | 217 |
| S/he works at: | ||||||
| Institute of state, public | 84.2 | 9.9 | 3.4 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 400 |
| A partnership of private owners and the state | 85.8 | 8.1 | 2.4 | 1.8 | 1.9 | 357 |
| Private sector, nonfarm | 81.9 | 9.4 | 4.1 | 3.3 | 1.4 | 843 |
| Private farming | 87.9 | 10.2 | 1.0 | — | 1.0 | 140 |
| Per capita income | ||||||
| Up to PLN 1499 | 81.4 | 9.7 | 3.0 | 4.9 | 1.0 | 489 |
| From PLN 1500 to PLN 999 | 81.9 | 10.2 | 4.4 | 3.3 | 0.2 | 418 |
| From PLN 2000 to PLN 2999 | 86.2 | 8.6 | 3.1 | 1.9 | .0.2 | 557 |
| From PLN 3000 to PLN 3999 | 82.6 | 9.4 | 5.1 | 2.3 | 0.5 | 302 |
| PLN 4000 and above | 84.0 | 10.1 | 2.6 | 2.7 | 0.6 | 320 |
| Hard to say | 83.1 | 9.2 | 2.9 | 3.4 | 1.3 | 412 |
| Refusal to answer | 82.0 | 8.9 | 2.2 | 1.9 | 5.0 | 575 |
| Evaluation of own material situation | ||||||
| Bad | 70.2 | 14.7 | 5.5 | 8.2 | 1.3 | 227 |
| Medium | 81.3 | 10.1 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 1.8 | 1258 |
| Good | 86.3 | 8.0 | 2.7 | 1.8 | 1.2 | 1588 |
| Participation in religious practices | ||||||
| Several times a week | 82.4 | 7.6 | 5.9 | 3.8 | 0.4 | 147 |
| Once a week | 87.1 | 7.6 | 2.6 | 2.1 | 0.6 | 1120 |
| 1–2 times a month | 83.4 | 11,2 | 3,3 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 396 |
| Several times a year | 82.4 | 10.4 | 3.3 | 2.8 | 1.1 | 679 |
| Does not participate at all | 79.0 | 10.7 | 3.9 | 5.3 | 1.2 | 648 |
| Political views | ||||||
| Left | 80.0 | 9.6 | 5.2 | 4.6 | 0.5 | 647 |
| Center | 85.4 | 9.4 | 2.0 | 2.4 | 0.8 | 800 |
| Right | 84.7 | 8.9 | 3.5 | 2.0 | 0.9 | 1046 |
| Hard to say | 82.6 | 10.6 | 2.5 | 3.5 | 0.8 | 463 |
Table 14.
PHQ-8 depression symptoms in Polish population distribution, item 6/8 (N = 3073).
| Sociodemographic variables | How often have the following problems bothered you in the past 2 weeks? Feeling dissatisfied with yourself—or feeling that you suck or that you have let yourself or your family down | Number of people | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| They did not tease at all or for 1 day | For several days | For more than half of the days | Almost every day | Refusal to answer | ||
| % | % | % | % | % | ||
| Total | 79.5 | 11.9 | 2.8 | 3.5 | 2.3 | 3073 |
| Gender | ||||||
| Men | 82.2 | 10.8 | 2.6 | 2,4 | 2.0 | 1446 |
| Women | 77.0 | 12.8 | 3.1 | 4.6 | 2.6 | 1627 |
| Age (years) | ||||||
| 18–24 | 67.7 | 15.9 | 5.6 | 8.9 | 1.9 | 292 |
| 25–34 | 77.6 | 12.1 | 2.4 | 5.6 | 2.2 | 485 |
| 35–44 | 82.3 | 11.3 | 1.8 | 1.9 | 2.6 | 599 |
| 45–54 | 79.9 | 12.2 | 2.3 | 3.1 | 2.5 | 491 |
| 55–64 | 81.6 | 11.1 | 2.7 | 1.9 | 2.6 | 479 |
| 65 years and older | 81.4 | 10.8 | 3.2 | 2.7 | 2.0 | 727 |
| Place of residence | ||||||
| Village | 82.1 | 11.0 | 1.7 | 3.4 | 1.8 | 1262 |
| City to 19,999 | 83.3 | 9.8 | 2.3 | 3.8 | 0.9 | 399 |
| 20,000–99,999 | 78.2 | 12.0 | 3.7 | 2.6 | 3.5 | 672 |
| 100,000–499,999 | 76.5 | 12.6 | 4.2 | 4.8 | 1.9 | 442 |
| 500,000 or more residents | 70.4 | 16.9 | 4.6 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 299 |
| Education | ||||||
| Elementary/middle school | 78.2 | 12.0 | 4.4 | 4.0 | 1.5 | 467 |
| Basic vocational | 81.6 | 10.6 | 2.4 | 3.1 | 2.2 | 712 |
| Medium | 79.1 | 11.9 | 2.8 | 4.1 | 2.2 | 1093 |
| Higher | 78.8 | 12.9 | 2.4 | 2.9 | 3.0 | 800 |
| Social and professional group | ||||||
| Staff of managers, especially with higher education | 82.0 | 10.0 | 3.6 | 2.5 | 2.0 | 367 |
| Medium staff, technicians | 80.9 | 13.4 | 1.5 | 4.3 | — | 148 |
| Admin office employees | 75.6 | 15.7 | 3.0 | 3.9 | 1.8 | 219 |
| Service workers | 81.5 | 10.0 | 2.5 | 4.2 | 1.7 | 255 |
| Skilled workers | 86.5 | 6.7 | 2.5 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 351 |
| Unskilled laborers | 75.2 | 17.8 | 1.5 | 3.4 | 2.1 | 119 |
| Farmers | 85.5 | 11.2 | 1.3 | — | 2.0 | 134 |
| Self-employed | 87.4 | 6.5 | — | 3.1 | 3.0 | 132 |
| Unemployed | 69.5 | 15.6 | 5.7 | 6.1 | 3.1 | 52 |
| Retirees | 81.4 | 11.3 | 3.0 | 2.4 | 2.0 | 798 |
| Pensioners | 68.9 | 16.0 | 6.6 | 5.0 | 3.5 | 127 |
| Pupils and students | 59.2 | 19.5 | 4.8 | 11.8 | 4.6 | 154 |
| Homemakers and others | 74.0 | 14.7 | 1.7 | 5.5 | 4.1 | 217 |
| S/he works at: | ||||||
| Institute of state, public | 79.8 | 11.6 | 2.8 | 3.5 | 2.2 | 400 |
| A partnership of private owners and the state | 82.1 | 9.4 | 3.9 | 2.6 | 1.9 | 357 |
| Private sector, nonfarm | 80.8 | 11.5 | 1.7 | 3.9 | 2.1 | 843 |
| Private farming | 87.1 | 9.8 | 1.2 | — | 1.9 | 140 |
| Per capita income | ||||||
| Up to PLN 1499 | 75.8 | 14.4 | 3.3 | 5.0 | 1.4 | 489 |
| From PLN 1500 to PLN 999 | 80.4 | 12.5 | 2.7 | 4.0 | 0.4 | 418 |
| From PLN 2000 to PLN 2999 | 82.1 | 12.0 | 2.0 | 2.8 | 1.1 | 557 |
| From PLN 3000 to PLN 3999 | 80.5 | 12.7 | 3.9 | 1.7 | 1.2 | 302 |
| PLN 4000 and above | 77.7 | 14.3 | 2.5 | 4.9 | 0.7 | 320 |
| Hard to say | 79.2 | 10.3 | 3.7 | 4.7 | 2.1 | 412 |
| Refusal to answer | 80.1 | 8.4 | 2.3 | 2.0 | 7.1 | 575 |
| Evaluation of own material situation | ||||||
| Bad | 65.0 | 14.8 | 6.1 | 12.8 | 1.3 | 227 |
| Medium | 75.7 | 13.4 | 3.3 | 4.1 | 3.5 | 1258 |
| Good | 84.6 | 10.2 | 2.0 | 1.8 | 1.5 | 1588 |
| Participation in religious practices | ||||||
| Several times a week | 80.6 | 10.5 | 4.6 | 2.3 | 2.0 | 147 |
| Once a week | 83.2 | 11.4 | 2.2 | 2.2 | 1.1 | 1120 |
| 1–2 times a month | 82.3 | 11.9 | 2.1 | 2.8 | 0.9 | 396 |
| Several times a year | 78.8 | 14.4 | 2.9 | 2.4 | 1.5 | 679 |
| Does not participate at all | 75.0 | 11.0 | 4.1 | 7.8 | 2.1 | 648 |
| Political views | ||||||
| Left | 76.9 | 12.2 | 4.3 | 5.2 | 1.3 | 647 |
| Center | 82.6 | 11,0 | 2.7 | 3.0 | 0.8 | 800 |
| Right | 81.3 | 12.7 | 2.2 | 2.2 | 1.5 | 1046 |
| Hard to say | 77.7 | 11.3 | 2.7 | 5.5 | 2.8 | 463 |
Table 15.
PHQ-8 depression symptoms in Polish population distribution, item 7/8 (N = 3073).
| Sociodemographic variables | How often have the following problems bothered you in the past 2 weeks? Problems concentrating (e.g., when reading a newspaper or watching TV) | Number of people | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| They did not tease at all or for 1 day | For several days | For more than half of the days | Almost every day | Refusal to answer | ||
| % | % | % | % | % | ||
| Total | 79.0 | 12.9 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 1.6 | 3073 |
| Gender | ||||||
| Men | 81.7 | 11.6 | 2.9 | 2.5 | 1.4 | 1446 |
| Women | 76.6 | 14.1 | 4.1 | 3.5 | 1.7 | 1627 |
| Age (years) | ||||||
| 18–24 | 68.2 | 17.2 | 7.2 | 5.1 | 2,3 | 292 |
| 25–34 | 74.7 | 17.3 | 3.1 | 3.8 | 1.1 | 485 |
| 35–44 | 82.0 | 11.4 | 2.6 | 2.1 | 1.8 | 599 |
| 45–54 | 82.1 | 10.5 | 3.5 | 2.4 | 1.5 | 491 |
| 55–64 | 84.0 | 10.1 | 2.1 | 2.3 | 1.6 | 479 |
| 65 years and older | 78.4 | 12.9 | 4.1 | 3.2 | 1.4 | 727 |
| Place of residence | ||||||
| Village | 82.4 | 11.1 | 3.3 | 2.3 | 0.9 | 1262 |
| City to 19,999 | 84.3 | 9.2 | 3.9 | 2.3 | 0.3 | 399 |
| 20,000–99,999 | 78.6 | 13.1 | 2.8 | 2.6 | 2.9 | 672 |
| 100,000–499,999 | 72.3 | 16.4 | 4.2 | 5.7 | 1.4 | 442 |
| 500,000 or more residents | 68.3 | 19.8 | 4.8 | 3.9 | 3.3 | 299 |
| Education | ||||||
| Elementary/middle school | 75.0 | 15.2 | 5.1 | 3.7 | 1.0 | 467 |
| Basic vocational | 83.1 | 10.3 | 2.8 | 3.2 | 0.6 | 712 |
| Medium | 79.7 | 11.5 | 3.7 | 3.1 | 2.0 | 1093 |
| Higher | 76.7 | 15.8 | 3.0 | 2.2 | 2.2 | 800 |
| Social and professional group | ||||||
| Staff of managers, especially with higher education | 75.4 | 17.0 | 4.1 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 367 |
| Medium staff, technicians | 79.7 | 15.2 | 3.3 | 1.8 | — | 148 |
| Admin office employees | 77.7 | 16.3 | 1.9 | 2.5 | 1.6 | 219 |
| Service workers | 77.5 | 14.1 | 3,7 | 4.0 | 0.7 | 255 |
| Skilled workers | 86.9 | 7.6 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 2.2 | 351 |
| Unskilled laborers | 82.0 | 10.0 | 4.1 | 2.9 | 0.9 | 119 |
| Farmers | 90.8 | 6.6 | 1.6 | — | 1.0 | 134 |
| Self-employed | 86.5 | 10.2 | 0.5 | 1.1 | 1.7 | 132 |
| Unemployed | 86,8 | 3,8 | 1.1 | 6.8 | 1.6 | 52 |
| Retirees | 78.8 | 12.5 | 3.9 | 3.5 | 1.4 | 798 |
| Pensioners | 74.8 | 13.0 | 5.6 | 4.5 | 2.0 | 127 |
| Pupils and students | 57.6 | 22.9 | 9.5 | 5.3 | 4.6 | 154 |
| Homemakers and others | 77.9 | 11.8 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 2.4 | 217 |
| S/he works at: | ||||||
| Institute of state, public | 80.4 | 11.9 | 4.3 | 1.9 | 1.4 | 400 |
| A partnership of private owners and the state | 76.7 | 17.5 | 2.3 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 357 |
| Private sector, nonfarm | 80.4 | 12.1 | 2,7 | 3.5 | 1.2 | 843 |
| Private farming | 90.0 | 7.4 | 1.5 | — | 1.0 | 140 |
| Per capita income | ||||||
| Up to PLN 1499 | 79.2 | 11.7 | 4.5 | 3.6 | 1.0 | 489 |
| From PLN 1500 to PLN 999 | 76.9 | 14.7 | 3.9 | 4.2 | 0.3 | 418 |
| From PLN 2000 to PLN 2999 | 80.2 | 13.3 | 3.6 | 2.6 | 0.4 | 557 |
| From PLN 3000 to PLN 3999 | 78.2 | 15.2 | 2.6 | 3.8 | 0.2 | 302 |
| PLN 4000 and above | 77.4 | 16.2 | 3.9 | 1.7 | .8 | 320 |
| Hard to say | 82.5 | 10.2 | 3.0 | 2.8 | 1.5 | 412 |
| Refusal to answer | 78.2 | 11.1 | 3.1 | 2.4 | 5.2 | 575 |
| Evaluation of own material situation | ||||||
| Bad | 68.1 | 13.5 | 4.8 | 12.3 | 1.3 | 227 |
| Medium | 76.3 | 14.1 | 4.7 | 2.8 | 2.0 | 1258 |
| Good | 82.7 | 11.9 | 2.4 | 1.8 | 1.2 | 1588 |
| Participation in religious practices | ||||||
| Several times a week | 79.2 | 9.4 | 7.0 | 3.2 | 1.2 | 147 |
| Once a week | 83.5 | 10.8 | 2.2 | 2.8 | 0.7 | 1120 |
| 1–2 times a month | 79.2 | 15.0 | 3.8 | 1.8 | 0.3 | 396 |
| Several times a year | 79.2 | 13.1 | 4.5 | 2.1 | 1.1 | 679 |
| Does not participate at all | 73.5 | 16.2 | 4.2 | 4.7 | 1.4 | 648 |
| Political views | ||||||
| Left | 73.0 | 16.6 | 5.7 | 4.1 | 0.6 | 647 |
| Center | 81.6 | 13.0 | 2.3 | 2.5 | 0.7 | 800 |
| Right | 82.1 | 11.8 | 3.2 | 1.9 | 1.0 | 1046 |
| Hard to say | 78.9 | 11.3 | 3.4 | 5.1 | 1.3 | 463 |
Table 16.
PHQ-8 depression symptoms in Polish population distribution, item 8/8 (N = 3073).
| Sociodemographic variables | How often have the following problems bothered you in the past 2 weeks? Moving or speaking so slowly that others could notice or, on the contrary, inability to sit still, moving much more | Number of people | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| They did not tease at all or for 1 day | For several days | For more than half of the days | Almost every day | Refusal to answer | ||
| % | % | % | % | % | ||
| Total | 86.1 | 6.9 | 2.0 | 2.5 | 2.3 | 3073 |
| Gender | ||||||
| Men | 87.2 | 6.5 | 1.7 | 2.7 | 1.9 | 1446 |
| Women | 85.2 | 7.4 | 2.3 | 2.4 | 2.7 | 1627 |
| Age (years) | ||||||
| 18–24 | 83.0 | 9.0 | 3.1 | 1.9 | 3.0 | 292 |
| 25–34 | 88.5 | 5.5 | 1.7 | 2.4 | 1.9 | 485 |
| 35–44 | 90.7 | 4.9 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 2.1 | 599 |
| 45–54 | 90.5 | 5.1 | 1.4 | 1.0 | 1.9 | 491 |
| 55–64 | 86.6 | 5.4 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 3.6 | 479 |
| 65 years and older | 78.8 | 11.0 | 3.2 | 4.9 | 2.0 | 727 |
| Place of residence | ||||||
| Village | 87.6 | 6.1 | 2.0 | 2.6 | 1.6 | 1262 |
| City to 19,999 | 87.0 | 7.9 | 1.5 | 2.6 | 0.9 | 399 |
| 20,000–99, 999 | 84.4 | 6.6 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 3.6 | 672 |
| 100,000–499, 999 | 87.6 | 6.5 | 1.1 | 2.4 | 2.4 | 442 |
| 500,000 or more residents | 80.6 | 10.5 | 2.5 | 2.1 | 4.2 | 299 |
| Education | ||||||
| Elementary/middle school | 80.0 | 8.6 | 3.8 | 5.2 | 2.4 | 467 |
| Basic vocational | 87.1 | 6,5 | 1.9 | 3.4 | 1.2 | 712 |
| Medium | 85.6 | 7,4 | 2.3 | 2.1 | 2.7 | 1093 |
| Higher | 89.6 | 5,8 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 2.8 | 800 |
| Social and professional group | ||||||
| Staff of managers, especially with higher education | 90.3 | 6.4 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 1.6 | 367 |
| Medium staff, technicians | 93.6 | 2.1 | 2.1 | 2.1 | — | 148 |
| Admin office employees | 94.5 | 2.9 | — | 0.2 | 2.4 | 219 |
| Service workers | 87.8 | 7.7 | 1.9 | 0.9 | 1.6 | 255 |
| Skilled workers | 91.6 | 4.7 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 2.2 | 351 |
| Unskilled laborers | 84.3 | 8.7 | 1.7 | 4.3 | .9 | 119 |
| Farmers | 91.6 | 4.1 | 1.3 | .7 | 2.3 | 134 |
| Self-employed | 91.7 | 5.9 | — | — | 2.4 | 132 |
| Unemployed | 84.9 | 6.2 | 5.6 | 1.0 | 2.3 | 52 |
| Retirees | 80.9 | 9.9 | 2.8 | 4.4 | 2.1 | 798 |
| Pensioners | 73.0 | 6.8 | 4.8 | 10.0 | 5.5 | 127 |
| Pupils and students | 79.6 | 8.9 | 4.5 | 1.9 | 5.2 | 154 |
| Homemakers and others | 81.1 | 7.4 | 2.6 | 4.8 | 4.1 | 217 |
| S/he works at: | ||||||
| Institute of state, public | 89.9 | 6.0 | 1.1 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 400 |
| A partnership of private owners and the state | 91.1 | 5.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 3.1 | 357 |
| Private sector, nonfarm | 90.4 | 5.2 | 1.6 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 843 |
| Private farming | 91.3 | 4.6 | 1.2 | .7 | 2.2 | 140 |
| Per capita income | ||||||
| Up to PLN 1499 | 81.2 | 11.4 | 2.1 | 3.7 | 1.5 | 489 |
| From PLN 1500 to PLN 999 | 84.4 | 7.7 | 5.3 | 1.8 | 0.8 | 418 |
| From PLN 2000 to PLN 2999 | 88.4 | 6.5 | 1.5 | 2.8 | 0.8 | 557 |
| From PLN 3000 to PLN 3999 | 87.4 | 9.2 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 302 |
| PLN 4000 and above | 91.7 | 4.3 | 0.8 | 1.8 | 1.4 | 320 |
| Hard to say | 85.9 | 6.0 | 1,8 | 4.2 | 2.1 | 412 |
| Refusal to answer | 86.1 | 4.0 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 6.9 | 575 |
| Evaluation of own material situation | ||||||
| Bad | 74.0 | 9.1 | 5.2 | 8.3 | 3.4 | 227 |
| Medium | 83.5 | 8.2 | 2.5 | 2.7 | 3.1 | 1258 |
| Good | 90.0 | 5.7 | 1.2 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 1588 |
| Participation in religious practices | ||||||
| Several times a week | 82.9 | 9.2 | 3.3 | 2.3 | 2.3 | 147 |
| Once a week | 88.3 | 6.0 | 1.6 | 2.9 | 1.3 | 1120 |
| 1–2 times a month | 87.0 | 7.1 | 2.6 | 1.9 | 1.4 | 396 |
| Several times a year | 86.0 | 8.7 | 2.4 | 1.2 | 1.7 | 679 |
| Does not participate at all | 86.1 | 6.6 | 2.0 | 3.6 | 1.7 | 648 |
| Political views | ||||||
| Left | 86.8 | 7.7 | 2.4 | 1.9 | 1.0 | 647 |
| Center | 86.9 | 7.0 | 2.9 | 1.9 | 1.3 | 800 |
| Right | 87.1 | 7.7 | 0.9 | 2.5 | 1.7 | 1046 |
| Hard to say | 84.1 | 5.0 | 2.7 | 5.1 | 3.1 | 463 |
Appendix A
Data Availability Statement
No publicly available datasets exist; however, public sector researchers interested in accessing the data will be allowed to agree upon data availability on request through the corresponding author (ptoczyski@aps.edu.pl). Access to data is restricted for private sector, according to confidentiality policy.
Ethics Statement
The Maria Grzegorzewska University Ethics Board approved the study with ethics approval number: 81/2022.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Author Contributions
All listed authors have made a significant scientific contribution to the research in the manuscript in equal parts, approved its claims, and agreed to be authors.
Funding
The statutory university funding of Maria Grzegorzewska University provided the financial support for this article.
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Associated Data
This section collects any data citations, data availability statements, or supplementary materials included in this article.
Data Availability Statement
No publicly available datasets exist; however, public sector researchers interested in accessing the data will be allowed to agree upon data availability on request through the corresponding author (ptoczyski@aps.edu.pl). Access to data is restricted for private sector, according to confidentiality policy.