Table 1.
Demographic, social and affective characteristics of Swiss health survey participants, 2007
| |
|
Major depressive disorder |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Total N = 12,286) | Absent (n = 11,760) | Present (n = 526) | |
| Age, M (SD) |
49.1 (16.4) |
49.3 (16.5) |
45.2 (14.2) |
| Percent female (N) |
54.1 (6643) |
53.6 (6300) |
65.2 (343) |
| Nationality, percent (N) |
|
|
|
| Swiss |
89.5 (10,099) |
89.7 (10,553) |
84.8 (446) |
| Italian |
2.2 (267) |
2.1 (246) |
4.0 (21) |
| Other |
8.3 (1018) |
8.2 (959) |
11.2 (59) |
| Missing |
.02 (2) |
.02 (2) |
|
| Regional language, (N) |
|
|
|
| German |
63.0 (7739) |
63.2 (7430) |
58.8 (309) |
| French |
29.7 (3645) |
29.5 (3472) |
32.9 (173) |
| Italian |
7.3 (902) |
7.3 (858) |
8.4 (44) |
| Education, percent (N) |
|
|
|
| Mandatory |
9.5 (1168) |
9.3 (1098) |
13.3 (70) |
| Secondary |
60.5 (7427) |
60.5 (7110) |
60.3 (317) |
| High school |
9.2 (1129) |
9.2 (1087) |
8.0 (42) |
| University |
20.9 (2562) |
21.0 (2465) |
18.4 (97) |
| Marital status, percent (N) |
|
|
|
| Single/divorced/widowed/separated |
44.8 (5500) |
44.1 (5186) |
59.7 (314) |
| Married/cohabiting |
55.2 (6777) |
55.8 (6565) |
40.3 (212) |
| Missing |
.07 (9) |
.07 (9) |
|
| Lonely (how often) |
|
|
|
| Never |
69.3 (8511) |
70.9 (8333) |
33.8 (178) |
| Sometimes |
27.1 (3333) |
26.5 (3118) |
40.9 (215) |
| Quite often/very often |
3.5 (430) |
2.5 (297) |
25.3 (133) |
| Missing |
0.1 (12) |
0.1 (12) |
|
| Confidant (someone to talk to about problems?) |
|
|
|
| No one |
4.5 (551) |
4.2 (497) |
10.3 (54) |
| One person |
24.3 (2981) |
24.2 (2846) |
25.7 (135) |
| Many people |
71.0 (8728) |
71.4 (8392) |
63.9 (336) |
| Missing |
0.2 (26) |
0.2 (25) |
0.2 (1) |
| Unmet support (do you ever miss having someone to talk to about your problems?) |
|
|
|
| No |
80.3 (9861) |
81.2 (9547) |
59.7 (314) |
| Yes |
19.5 (2398) |
18.6 (2189) |
39.7 (209) |
| Missing |
0.2 (27) |
0.2 (24) |
0.6 (3) |
| Tangible support (do you have family or a neighbor to help and support you with daily activities?) |
|
|
|
| No one |
6.3 (778) |
6.0 (704) |
14.1 (74) |
| One person |
9.9 (1212) |
9.8 (1151) |
11.6 (61) |
| Many people |
83.1 (10209) |
83.5 (9821) |
73.8 (388) |
| Missing |
0.7 (87) |
0.7 (84) |
0.6 (3) |
| Social contacts quintile |
|
|
|
| 0-9 |
12.3 (1514) |
12.1 (1424) |
17.1 (90) |
| 10-12 |
28.6 (3511) |
28.5 (3347) |
31.2 (164) |
| 13-14 |
25.2 (3091) |
25.1 (2949) |
27.0 (142) |
| 15-16 |
21.2 (2610) |
21.6 (2534) |
14.5 (76) |
| 17-21 |
12.7 (1560) |
12.8 (1506) |
10.3 (54) |
| Depressive symptoms, M (SD) | 3.4 (3.2) | 3.2 (2.9) | 7.9 (4.7) |
Participants included those who responded to both the telephone survey and to the written questionnaire and who had no missing data for the depression scales. Twelve-month major depressive disorder was assessed with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview short form [38]. Depressive symptoms experienced over the last two weeks were assessed with the Depression Screening Questionnaire [39]. Social contacts represent the sum of 5 questions. Four contact items encompassed a) meeting or phoning b) friends or relatives. The fifth question assessed participation in group activities such as clubs or organizations. Contact items were anchored with never (0), rarely (1), twice a year (2), once a month (3), once a week (4) and almost daily (5) response options. Response options for group activities included never (0), rarely (1), a few times a year (2), about once a month (3), about once a week (4) and almost daily (5). M = mean; SD = standard deviation.