Depression diagnosis in Brazil increased by 40% during lockdowns and isolation measures
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The percentage of people diagnosed with depression in Brazil has increased by more than 40% during the Covid-19 pandemic, from 9.6% in the period before the health crisis to 13.5% in the first quarter of this year.
The data released today (27) come from the Telephone Survey of Non-communicable Chronic Disease Risk Factors in Times of Pandemic (Covitel), developed by the Federal University of Pelotas (UFPel) in collaboration with the nongovernmental organization Vital Strategies.
For the study, 9 thousand interviews were conducted by telephone from January to March, half of them by landline and the other half by cell phone. The sample covers the five regions of the country, including the population in the capital and in rural areas.
The prevalence of depression is higher among women: 18.8% this year and 13.5% before the pandemic. The disease was diagnosed in 16.5% of the white population, compared to 11% before the health crisis. In the black population, the percentage of people diagnosed with depression increased from 8.8% to 11.8%.
However, Vital Strategies technical advisor Luciana Sardinha pointed out that the data only refers to people who have been diagnosed with the problem and not necessarily all those affected by depression. “They are the ones who had the condition to have access to a doctor,” she stressed.
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