Resident Psychiatrist, Kenneth Uwajeh, of the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Yaba, has called for improvement in the nation’s economic situation to reduce the rate of depression and suicide in the country.
He spoke against the backdrop of the recent reports by the World Health Organisation (WHO) that 800,000 people commit suicide every year across the world.
WHO said in the report that depression was also the leading cause of disability worldwide, affecting more than 300 million people, majority of them women, young people and the elderly.
Uwajeh said, “The economic recession in our country has resulted in loss of occupation across all cadres of workers, causing untold hardship.
“The high rate of unemployment has further worsened the occupational burden.
“In the search for greener pastures, our young adults migrate, leaving the elderly unattended to.
“There is also loss of social support and feelings of loneliness as many of our elderly are widows, unmarried females and the elderly;
all three are risk factors for depression and suicide.’’
Uwajeh said that suicide as observed was closely correlated with depression.
According to him, it has been attributed to a sense of loss which results in hopelessness, helplessness, feeling of worthlessness resulting in thoughts of suicide and attempts.
“In the search for greener pastures, our young adults migrate, leaving the elderly unattended to, loss of social support and feelings of loneliness, as many of our elderly are widows,’’ he said.
The expert said the plague of suicide was a pandemic that was increasing globally as evidenced by the rise in its prevalence.
“Most of these are due to depressive disorders amidst other psychiatric morbidities.
“It is also associated with other socio-demographic factors as evidenced by a 2015 study conducted by Adewuya et al, and the Lagos State Mental Health Survey funded by the state Ministry of Health.
“It reveals a suicidal ideation lifetime prevalence rate of 7.28 per cent and associated factors include the female gender, unmarried, older age group, and low occupational status.
“This is higher than the life time prevalence rate of 3.2 per cent observed in 2001 to 2003 study conducted by WHO in its World Mental Health Survey,“ he said.
Uwajeh said that solution to the pandemic was to recognise the identified factors and work on them.
“We need governments and private individuals to collaborate with the psychiatry community as headed by the Association of Psychiatrist Nigeria, to address the problem of mental health.
“Allocate more resources and incorporate mental health into the primary healthcare, training and retraining of all staff in the health institutions and homes for the elderly to provide social support for each other.
“As their wards migrate in search of a better life, we must at the same time retain positive aspects of our culture that give reverence and care for the elderly.
“There is need for education and awareness of the risk factors for depression and other mental illnesses for prevention, detection and early treatment, “ the psychiatrist said.
