Table 1.
Descriptive table of depressed and noninstitutionalized residents aged 15 and over in the European Union.
| Independent variables | Male (N = 8602 [33.47%]) | Female (N = 17,099 [66.53%]) | Both sexes (N = 25,701 [100%]) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N | % | N | % | N | % | |
| Age (years) | ||||||
| 15–24 | 618 | 9.20 | 1117 | 8.76 | 1735 | 8.93 |
| 25–44 | 1903 | 29.41 | 2996 | 24.38 | 4899 | 26.31 |
| 45–64 | 3066 | 38.15 | 5868 | 34.61 | 8934 | 35.97 |
| 65–74 | 1417 | 10.99 | 2939 | 13.13 | 4356 | 12.31 |
| 75+ | 1598 | 12.24 | 4179 | 19.13 | 5777 | 16.49 |
| Nationality∗ | ||||||
| Native-born | 7520 | 86.07 | 15,155 | 88.16 | 22,675 | 87.36 |
| Born in another EU state | 323 | 3.23 | 718 | 4.16 | 1041 | 3.81 |
| Born in non-EU country | 739 | 10.70 | 1198 | 7.68 | 1937 | 8.83 |
| Degree of urbanization | ||||||
| Cities | 3227 | 44.00 | 6335 | 44.02 | 9562 | 44.01 |
| Towns and suburbs | 2682 | 33.35 | 5431 | 33.08 | 8113 | 33.18 |
| Rural areas | 2663 | 22.65 | 5271 | 22.90 | 7934 | 22.81 |
| Marital status | ||||||
| Single | 2516 | 38.77 | 2986 | 22.38 | 5502 | 28.67 |
| Married or living with partner | 4456 | 41.94 | 7578 | 44.42 | 12,034 | 43.47 |
| Divorced | 699 | 7.21 | 4353 | 20.27 | 5052 | 15.26 |
| Widowed | 913 | 12.07 | 2122 | 12.92 | 3035 | 12.60 |
| Education level | ||||||
| No formal education | 262 | 1.88 | 929 | 3.63 | 1191 | 2.96 |
| Primary school | 2863 | 30.03 | 6638 | 36.96 | 9501 | 34.30 |
| Secondary school | 3400 | 50.42 | 5740 | 42.24 | 9140 | 45.37 |
| Higher education | 1963 | 17.67 | 3597 | 17.18 | 5560 | 17.37 |
| Employment status | ||||||
| Employed | 2720 | 39.10 | 4720 | 33.18 | 7440 | 35.44 |
| Unemployed | 714 | 9.63 | 1007 | 7.36 | 1721 | 8.23 |
| Inactive | 5071 | 51.28 | 11,227 | 59.46 | 16,298 | 56.33 |
| Income level | ||||||
| 1st quintile | 2067 | 29.57 | 4695 | 29.98 | 6762 | 29.82 |
| 2nd quintile | 1837 | 22.78 | 4121 | 24.42 | 5958 | 23.79 |
| 3rd quintile | 1703 | 19.62 | 3011 | 18.79 | 4714 | 19.11 |
| 4th quintile | 1372 | 15.79 | 2462 | 15.23 | 3834 | 15.45 |
| 5th quintile | 1138 | 12.24 | 1859 | 11.58 | 2997 | 11.83 |
| Oslo Social Support Scale | ||||||
| Poor support | 5766 | 63.35 | 12,115 | 69.16 | 17,881 | 66.92 |
| Moderate support | 2377 | 34.70 | 4192 | 29.00 | 6569 | 31.19 |
| Strong support | 112 | 1.95 | 182 | 1.85 | 294 | 1.89 |
| Smoking | ||||||
| Yes | 2660 | 40.26 | 3592 | 26.88 | 6252 | 32.01 |
| No | 5844 | 59.74 | 13,278 | 73.12 | 19,122 | 67.99 |
| Vaping | ||||||
| Yes | 364 | 6.52 | 469 | 3.83 | 833 | 4.86 |
| No | 8078 | 93.48 | 16,306 | 96.17 | 24,384 | 95.14 |
| Alcohol consumption | ||||||
| More than once a month | 2931 | 40.20 | 2949 | 20.62 | 5880 | 28.17 |
| Once a month or less | 4636 | 59.80 | 12,083 | 79.38 | 16,719 | 71.83 |
| Physical activity | ||||||
| Low physical activity | 5325 | 55.73 | 11,437 | 60.61 | 16,762 | 58.74 |
| Moderate physical activity | 1343 | 15.09 | 2633 | 16.49 | 3976 | 15.95 |
| High physical activity | 1875 | 29.19 | 2905 | 22.90 | 4780 | 25.31 |
| Medication availability cluster | ||||||
| Pharmacy-only | 2285 | 14.32 | 5022 | 17.64 | 7307 | 16.36 |
| Nonpharmacy | 3854 | 33.79 | 6956 | 34.94 | 10,810 | 34.50 |
| Limited pharmacy | 2463 | 51.90 | 5121 | 47.42 | 7584 | 49.13 |
| Long-standing health problem | ||||||
| Yes | 6982 | 78.29 | 14,191 | 82.13 | 21,173 | 80.66 |
| No | 1564 | 21.71 | 2784 | 17.87 | 4348 | 19.34 |
| Self-perceived health | ||||||
| Very good/good | 2237 | 30.88 | 4178 | 28.50 | 6415 | 29.41 |
| Fair (neither good nor bad) | 3047 | 34.66 | 6872 | 40.72 | 9919 | 38.40 |
| Bad/very bad | 3281 | 34.45 | 5966 | 30.78 | 9247 | 32.19 |
| Use of prescribed medicine in the past 2 weeks | ||||||
| Yes | 7275 | 84.68 | 15,377 | 91.18 | 22,652 | 88.68 |
| No | 1288 | 15.32 | 1661 | 8.82 | 2949 | 11.32 |
| Visit to a general practitioner or family doctor∗∗ | ||||||
| Yes | 6508 | 71.72 | 14,042 | 80.19 | 20,550 | 76.94 |
| No | 2053 | 28.28 | 2998 | 19.81 | 5051 | 23.06 |
| Visit to a medical or surgical specialist∗∗ | ||||||
| Yes | 5553 | 64.02 | 11,924 | 72.80 | 17,477 | 69.44 |
| No | 2964 | 35.98 | 5026 | 27.20 | 7990 | 30.56 |
| Visit to a psychologist, psychotherapist, or psychiatrist∗∗ | ||||||
| Yes | 2469 | 33.92 | 5161 | 37.28 | 7630 | 36.00 |
| No | 6012 | 66.08 | 11,750 | 62.72 | 17,762 | 64.00 |
| Unmet need for health care due to waiting lists∗∗ | ||||||
| Yes | 2207 | 26.57 | 5080 | 30.88 | 7287 | 29.23 |
| No | 5142 | 59.51 | 10,089 | 58.96 | 15,231 | 59.17 |
| No need for health care | 1174 | 13.91 | 1799 | 10.15 | 2973 | 11.59 |
| Unmet need for health care due to distance or transportation problems∗∗ | ||||||
| Yes | 736 | 9.99 | 1535 | 8.75 | 2271 | 9.23 |
| No | 6618 | 77.49 | 13,510 | 80.62 | 20,128 | 79.42 |
| No need for health care | 1165 | 12.52 | 1885 | 10.63 | 3050 | 11.35 |
| Unmet need for health care due to inability to afford medical examination or treatment∗∗ | ||||||
| Yes | 1003 | 10.17 | 2333 | 13.10 | 3336 | 11.97 |
| No | 5794 | 72.03 | 11,696 | 72.31 | 17,490 | 72.20 |
| No need for health care | 1306 | 17.80 | 2171 | 14.59 | 3477 | 15.82 |
| Unmet need for health care due to inability to afford prescribed medicines∗∗ | ||||||
| Yes | 849 | 9.61 | 1989 | 11.61 | 2838 | 10.84 |
| No | 6201 | 76.42 | 12,673 | 78.22 | 18,874 | 77.53 |
| No need for health care | 1047 | 13.97 | 1524 | 10.17 | 2571 | 11.63 |
| Unmet need for health care due to inability to afford mental health care∗∗ | ||||||
| Yes | 699 | 9.53 | 1566 | 9.80 | 2265 | 9.70 |
| No | 4548 | 61.54 | 8845 | 61.38 | 13,393 | 61.44 |
| No need for health care | 2847 | 28.93 | 5773 | 28.81 | 8620 | 28.86 |
| Self-medication in the past 2 weeks | ||||||
| Yes | 3282 | 38.46 | 8013 | 46.84 | 11,295 | 43.63 |
| No | 5320 | 61.54 | 9086 | 53.16 | 14,406 | 56.37 |
| Depression | ||||||
| Recognized | 5752 | 71.66 | 11,941 | 72.41 | 17,693 | 72.13 |
| Symptoms | 2850 | 28.34 | 5158 | 27.59 | 8008 | 27.87 |
Note: European Health Interview Survey Wave 3 (2018–2020). ∗ = does not include data from Malta; ∗∗ = in the past 12 months. Inactive = retirees, students, and those performing domestic tasks, carrying out compulsory service, or unable to work for health reasons. 1st quintile contains the lowest values and the 5th quintile the highest values.
Abbreviations: EU, European Union; OR, odds ratio.