Background

Depression is the second leading cause of death among young people worldwide, and severity and suicidality are useful predictors of an adverse outcome.

Aim

This study aimed at examining factors associated with depression among university students in Tanzania.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted between March 2018 and July 2019 of undergraduate students across four universities. They completed a self-reported questionnaire collecting socio-demographic, together with a Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) to screen for depression. A multivariate logistic regression model was used to determine independent predictors of depression.

Results

A total of 1047 students completed the study. Their mean (±SD) age was 24.2 (±7) years. 219 students (21.3%) screened positive for probable depression (survey-1 34% vs survey-2 13%). A total of 228 (21.9%) students reported having thoughts of serious self-harm. Factors independently influencing depression included year of study, substance abuse, unhappy interpersonal relationships and chronic mental or physical illness. The presence of an eating disorder was a predictor of depression and was recorded in 7.4% of all students.

Conclusion

Significant probable depression is present in one fifth of undergraduate students in this study. These results demonstrate a worrying degree of self- reported features of depression among North Tanzanian university students.