Prevalence of Depression, Problematic Drinking and their Correlates among University Students in Southwest Nigeria

Aim: To determine the prevalence and correlations of depression and problematic drinking among undergraduates in a Nigerian University.

Study Design: The study design was a descriptive cross-sectional survey

Methodology: The study was conducted among 412 full-time undergraduates of LAUTECH, 18 years and above and apparently well without previous history of mental illness. Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) are instruments used for the study. Data analysis was done with the statistical package for social sciences version 21.

Results: Approximately half (49.5%) of the respondents were depressed and 20.4% of them had major depression. The prevalence of problematic alcohol use in the study population was 10.4% mostly among males. There was no significant association between depression, alcohol use and problematic alcohol use (χ2 = 1.125, df = 1, P-value = 0.289) in the study sample.

Conclusion: The increasing prevalence of depression and problematic drinking among university students is worrisome as this will not only adversely impact their academic performance but future productivity and the risk of other psychosocial and health problems.