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Table 1 Demographic, social and affective characteristics of Swiss health survey participants, 2007

From: Social relationship correlates of major depressive disorder and depressive symptoms in Switzerland: nationally representative cross sectional study

   Major depressive disorder
  Total N = 12,286) Absent (n = 11,760) Present (n = 526)
Age, M (SD) 49.1 (16.4) 49.3 (16.5) 45.2 (14.2)
Percent female (N) 54.1 (6643) 53.6 (6300) 65.2 (343)
Nationality, percent (N)    
  Swiss 89.5 (10,099) 89.7 (10,553) 84.8 (446)
  Italian 2.2 (267) 2.1 (246) 4.0 (21)
  Other 8.3 (1018) 8.2 (959) 11.2 (59)
  Missing .02 (2) .02 (2)  
Regional language, (N)    
  German 63.0 (7739) 63.2 (7430) 58.8 (309)
  French 29.7 (3645) 29.5 (3472) 32.9 (173)
  Italian 7.3 (902) 7.3 (858) 8.4 (44)
Education, percent (N)    
  Mandatory 9.5 (1168) 9.3 (1098) 13.3 (70)
  Secondary 60.5 (7427) 60.5 (7110) 60.3 (317)
  High school 9.2 (1129) 9.2 (1087) 8.0 (42)
  University 20.9 (2562) 21.0 (2465) 18.4 (97)
Marital status, percent (N)    
  Single/divorced/widowed/separated 44.8 (5500) 44.1 (5186) 59.7 (314)
  Married/cohabiting 55.2 (6777) 55.8 (6565) 40.3 (212)
  Missing .07 (9) .07 (9)  
Lonely (how often)    
  Never 69.3 (8511) 70.9 (8333) 33.8 (178)
  Sometimes 27.1 (3333) 26.5 (3118) 40.9 (215)
  Quite often/very often 3.5 (430) 2.5 (297) 25.3 (133)
  Missing 0.1 (12) 0.1 (12)  
Confidant (someone to talk to about problems?)    
  No one 4.5 (551) 4.2 (497) 10.3 (54)
  One person 24.3 (2981) 24.2 (2846) 25.7 (135)
  Many people 71.0 (8728) 71.4 (8392) 63.9 (336)
  Missing 0.2 (26) 0.2 (25) 0.2 (1)
Unmet support (do you ever miss having someone to talk to about your problems?)    
  No 80.3 (9861) 81.2 (9547) 59.7 (314)
  Yes 19.5 (2398) 18.6 (2189) 39.7 (209)
  Missing 0.2 (27) 0.2 (24) 0.6 (3)
Tangible support (do you have family or a neighbor to help and support you with daily activities?)    
  No one 6.3 (778) 6.0 (704) 14.1 (74)
  One person 9.9 (1212) 9.8 (1151) 11.6 (61)
  Many people 83.1 (10209) 83.5 (9821) 73.8 (388)
  Missing 0.7 (87) 0.7 (84) 0.6 (3)
Social contacts quintile    
  0-9 12.3 (1514) 12.1 (1424) 17.1 (90)
  10-12 28.6 (3511) 28.5 (3347) 31.2 (164)
  13-14 25.2 (3091) 25.1 (2949) 27.0 (142)
  15-16 21.2 (2610) 21.6 (2534) 14.5 (76)
  17-21 12.7 (1560) 12.8 (1506) 10.3 (54)
Depressive symptoms, M (SD) 3.4 (3.2) 3.2 (2.9) 7.9 (4.7)
  1. Participants included those who responded to both the telephone survey and to the written questionnaire and who had no missing data for the depression scales. Twelve-month major depressive disorder was assessed with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview short form [38]. Depressive symptoms experienced over the last two weeks were assessed with the Depression Screening Questionnaire [39]. Social contacts represent the sum of 5 questions. Four contact items encompassed a) meeting or phoning b) friends or relatives. The fifth question assessed participation in group activities such as clubs or organizations. Contact items were anchored with never (0), rarely (1), twice a year (2), once a month (3), once a week (4) and almost daily (5) response options. Response options for group activities included never (0), rarely (1), a few times a year (2), about once a month (3), about once a week (4) and almost daily (5). M = mean; SD = standard deviation.
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BMC Public Health

ISSN: 1471-2458

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