Characteristics of the cross-sectional and cohort participants by PHQ-9 status
| Baseline PHQ+ve (n=1079) | Baseline PHQ−ve (n=8791) | Cohort PHQ+ve (n=518) | Cohort PHQ−ve (n=3769) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gender*† | ||||
| Female | 702 (67.6%) | 4896 (56.8%) | 353 (68.9%) | 2135 (56.9%) |
| Male | 336 (32.4%) | 3721 (43.2%) | 159 (31.1%) | 1620 (43.1%) |
| Age group, years*† | ||||
| 18–34 | 316 (31.1%) | 2200 (26.0%) | 147 (29.0%) | 860 (23.1%) |
| 35–54 | 371 (36.5%) | 3045 (35.9%) | 197 (38.9%) | 1336 (35.9%) |
| 55+ | 329 (32.4%) | 3232 (38.1%) | 163 (32.1%) | 1527 (41.0%) |
| Education | ||||
| Secondary or above | 772 (75.0%) | 6513 (75.9%) | 391 (75.9%) | 2834 (75.4%) |
| Primary or below | 258 (25.0%) | 2069 (24.1%) | 124 (24.1%) | 924 (24.6%) |
| Marital status*† | ||||
| Married | 354 (34.3%) | 2292 (26.7%) | 168 (32.7%) | 900 (23.9%) |
| All others (single, divorced, widow) | 677 (65.7%) | 6289 (73.3%) | 346 (67.3%) | 2860 (76.1%) |
| Working status*† | ||||
| Employed | 583 (57.6%) | 5394 (63.5%) | 293 (57.9%) | 2337 (62.7%) |
| All others (unemployed, retired, house-maker, student) | 430 (42.4%) | 3096 (36.5%) | 213 (42.1%) | 1391 (37.3%) |
| Household monthly income*† | ||||
| HK$ 30 000 (US $3800) or below | 676 (75.4%) | 4539 (60.6%) | 346 (73.9%) | 2062 (60.0%) |
| More than HK$ 30 000 | 220 (24.6%) | 2950 (39.4%) | 122 (26.1%) | 1372 (40.0%) |
| District of residence | ||||
| Hong Kong Island | 431 (41.9%) | 3554 (41.7%) | 230 (44.6%) | 1618 (43.1%) |
| Kowloon | 227 (220%) | 1969 (23.1%) | 118 (22.9%) | 899 (24.0%) |
| New Territories and Outlying Islands | 372 (36.1%) | 3010 (35.3%) | 168 (32.6%) | 1236 (32.9%) |
| Service sector* | ||||
| Private | 761 (70.5%) | 6559 (74.6%) | 354 (68.3%) | 2659 (70.5%) |
| Public | 318 (29.5%) | 2232 (25.4%) | 164 (31.7%) | 1110 (29.5%) |
| Doctor identification | ||||
| Diagnosed with depression by study doctor at baseline | 249 (23.1%) | 353 (4.0%) | 153 (26.1%) | 180 (4.8%) |
| Presence of professional HSI | ||||
| None | 492 (49.1%) | 4263 (50.4%) | 226 (44.7%) | 1680 (45.3%) |
| At least one | 510 (50.9%) | 4199 (49.6%) | 280 (55.3%) | 2030 (54.7%) |
| PHQ-9 severity level | ||||
| Minimum (0–4) | – | 6221 (70.8%) | – | 2657 (70.5%) |
| Mild (5–9) | – | 2570 (29.2%) | – | 1112 (29.5%) |
| Moderate (10–14) | 759 (70.3%) | – | 353 (68.1%) | – |
| Moderately severe (15–19) | 235 (21.8%) | – | 118 (22.8%) | – |
| Severe (20–27) | 85 (7.9%) | – | 47 (9.1%) | – |
Missing value categories are omitted.
*Proportionately different at p<0.05 between baseline PHQ+ve and baseline PHQ−ve by χ2 test.
†Proportionately different at p<0.05 between cohort PHQ+ve and cohort PHQ−ve by χ2 test.
GP, general practitioner; HSI, health-seeking intention (intention to seek help from a healthcare professional, including a psychiatrist, psychologist, GP or social worker); PHQ, Patient Health Questionnaire.