A Comparative Study of Varying Depression Levels amongst People with Different Demographics and Diagnoses

Abstract

The relationship between depression and gender make stronger with increasing age. The neurological health conditions also linked with depression.  The centre for epidemiological studies – Depression is a 20-item scale published to measure rate of depressive symptoms that include restless sleep, poor appetite, and feeling lonely. The present research aims to understand whether the demographic details and the diagnosis of the participant was able to significantly explain the variance in the scores for the above scale. For the purpose of this study, a sample of 76 participant’s data was observed. They were segregated based on their age, gender and clinical diagnosis in order to ease the analysis process. ANOVA was conducted on the above-mentioned data. It was noted that participants with epilepsy had a statistically significant depression score when compared to participants with mild cognitive impairment (Mean difference- +8.69). The results are discussed and further elaborated upon, with limitations of the study and recommendations for future research.