DEPRESSION, ANXIETY AND STRESS IN RURAL AND URBAN POPULATION OF ISLAMABAD

Background: Depression, anxiety and stress are most prevalent causes of disease burden in common population. Due to rapid economic and social changes same increasing trend of these disorders has also been observed in Pakistan. Objective: To compare level of depression, anxiety and stress between rural and urban population of Islamabad, Pakistan. Methodology: A cross-sectional comparative survey was administered on a sample of n=386 participants. A total of n=193 participants belonged to rural population and n=193 belonged to urban population of Islamabad. Participants were interviewed and responses were rated on Depression Anxiety Stress 21 scale (DASS). Data was analyzed by using frequency, percentages, mean and standard deviation. To compare rural and urban population independent t-test was used. Results: The mean age of study participants was 32.46±9 years and 33.75±9.98 years in urban and rural population respectively. There was no significant difference at p≥0.05 between total scores of depression, anxiety and stress among rural and urban participants. Conclusion: Rural and urban population of Islamabad does not vary significantly on the basis of depression, anxiety and stress level. Keywords: Anxiety, DASS 21, Depression, Anxiety, Islamabad, Pakistan