Prevalence and associated factors of undiagnosed depression and generalized anxiety disorder among a national sample of women and men in Mozambique in 2022-23

J Affect Disord. 2025 Apr 5:S0165-0327(25)00550-6. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2025.03.202. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The study’s objective was to assess adult Mozambicans’ prevalence and associated factors of undiagnosed depressive and anxiety disorders.

METHOD: This cross-sectional study analyzed data from the 2022-23 Mozambique Demographic and Health Survey (MDHS), including 13,183 women (aged 15-49 years) and 5380 men (aged 15-54 years) that completed the mental health module.

RESULTS: The analytic women sample (15-49 years) included 1619 females with depressive and/or anxiety disorders. The proportion of undiagnosed depressive and/or anxiety disorders were 81.0 % and 19.0 % had diagnosed depressive and/or anxiety disorders. The analytic men sample (15-54 years) included 288 males with depressive and/or anxiety disorders. The proportion of undiagnosed depressive and/or anxiety disorders was 67.4 % and 32.6 % had diagnosed depressive and/or anxiety disorders. In adjusted logistic regression analysis, Islamic, no, or other religion (Adjusted Odds Ratio-AOR: 1.16, 95 % Confidence Interval (CI): 1.04-1.29), currently pregnant (AOR: 1.13, 95 % CI: 1.05-1.21) were positively associated with undiagnosed depressive and/or anxiety disorders, and almost daily internet use (AOR: 0.75, 95 % CI: 0.64-0.87) was negatively associated with undiagnosed depressive and/or anxiety disorders. In addition, in univariable analysis, poorer wealth status, barriers to health care access (distance and financial) were positively associated with undiagnosed depressive and/or anxiety disorders, and currently working, urban residence, having health insurance coverage and cancer screening were negatively associated with undiagnosed depressive and/or anxiety disorders.

LIMITATIONS: Our findings only referred to participants having positive screening results of depressive and anxiety disorders, and no clinical diagnoses by medical providers were made.

CONCLUSIONS: The study makes a significant contribution to understanding mental health in Mozambique and highlights the critical need for improving mental health services, particularly for undiagnosed cases. These findings can inform policies and programmes aimed at better mental health outcomes across different population groups in Mozambique.

PMID:40194633 | DOI:10.1016/j.jad.2025.03.202