Table 5

Factors associated with depressive symptoms and severe depressive symptoms

Variables in the final model*Depressive symptoms†Severe depressive symptoms‡
AOR (95% CI)P valuesAOR (95% CI)P values
Perceived academic performance
 Very goodReferenceReference
 Good2.28 (1.01 to 5.15)0.041.22 (0.35 to 4.19)0.76
 Fairly good3.51 (1.58 to 7.78)0.0022.15 (0.65 to 7.11)0.21
 Fair5.30 (2.35 to 11.93)<0.0012.52 (0.75-8-43)0.13
 Poor7.31 (2.24 to 23.86)0.0017.38 (1.75 to 10.94)0.006
Frequency of weekly high-fat snack consumption
 0 timeReferenceReference
 1–2 times0.99 (0.72 to 1.37)0.951.25 (0.78 to 1.99)0.36
 3 times or more1.72 (1.08 to 2.76)0.022.13 (1.15 to 3.95)0.02
Frequency of weekly lean protein consumption
 0 timeReferenceReference
 1–2 times0.52 (0.34 to 0.79)0.0020.69 (0.41 to 1.18)0.17
 3 times or more0.62 (0.38 to 0.96)0.040.80 (0.44 to 1.47)0.48
Amount of margarine/butter/meat fat consumption
 None/very littleReference
 Some0.98 (0.66 to 1.46)0.91
 A lot1.92 (1.02 to 3.64)0.04
Self-perception about body shape
 Very overweightReference
 Slightly overweight0.56 (0.31 to 1.07)0.080.65 (0.32 to 1.14)0.25
 About right0.58 (0.32 to 1.050.070.45 (0.22 to 0.93)0.03
 Slightly underweight0.54 (0.29 to 0.99)0.040.37 (0.18 to 0.77)0.008
 Very underweight0.92 (0.38 to 2.25)0.860.38 (0.14 to 0.99)0.04
Self-perception on general health status
 Very good
 Good1.05 (0.68 to 1.64)0.821.19 (0.60 to 2.38)0.62
 Fair1.58 (0.99 to 2.51)0.051.47 (0.73 to 2.96)0.28
 Poor2.99 (1.28 to 7.00)0.015.43 (2.19 to 13.46)<0.001
Limitation in moderate activities on a typical day
 Greatly limitedReferenceReference
 Mildly limited0.39 (0.20 to 0.74)0.0040.64 (0.29 to 1.34)0.23
 Not limited0.30 (0.16 to 0.58)<0.0010.63 (0.30 to 1.36)0.24
Pain interferes with your normal work in past 4 weeks
 Not at allReferenceReference
 A little bit1.68 (1.08 to 2.61)0.021.01 (0.46 to 2.22)0.99
 Moderately3.10 (1.89 to 5.10)<0.0013.69 (1.68 to 7.11)0.001
 Quite a bit4.14 (2.13 to 8.05)<0.0014.68 (2.01 to 10.92)<0.001
 Extremely10.43 (1.05 to 10.94)0.0410.02 (1.99 to 9.28)0.005
Feeling downhearted and blue in past 4 weeks
 None of the timeReferenceReference
 A little of the time0.52 (0.63 to 3.66)0.351.02 (0.24 to 4.29)0.98
 Some of the time3.42 (1.42 to 8.23)0.0061.83 (0.45 to 7.45)0.40
 A good bit of the time7.70 (3.02 to 19.66)<0.0016.01 (1.45 to 4.85)0.01
 Most of the time20.71 (6.47 to 66.37)<0.0019.04 (2.31 to 13.71)0.002
 A lot of the time6.69 (1.87 to 23.90)0.0038.72 (1.69 to 14.86)0.01
Had been hit, slapped and kicked by a parent/guardian
 NoReferenceReference
 Yes1.39 (1.04 to 1.86)0.031.11 (0.75 to 1.65)0.59
People in my family had said hurtful or insulting things to me
 NoReferenceReference
 Yes1.82 (1.37 to 2.42)<0.0012.18 (1.46 to 3.24)<0.001
There had been someone to take care of me and take me to medical care when I got sick
 NoReferenceReference
 Yes0.51 (0.30 to 0.86)0.010.26 (0.13 to 0.52)<0.001
  • *Variables in the table were the ones that remained statistically significant in the final multivariate logistic regression model after several steps of model fitting.

  • †Defined by a Center for Epidemiology Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) score of ≥16.

  • ‡Defined by a CES-D score of ≥23.

  • AOR, adjusted OR.