OBJECTIVETo investigate the prevalence and possible influencing factors of depressive disorder in surgical inpatients.

METHODSTwo hundred and sixty-six surgical inpatients meeting the inclusion criteria were first screened with the self rating depression scale (SDS), and then the subjects screened positive and 20% of those screened negative were evaluated with Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders (SCID) as a gold standard for diagnosis of depressive disorder. Possible influencing factors were also analyzed by experienced psychiatrists.

RESULTSThe standard score of SDS in the surgical inpatients were significantly higher than those in the Chinese norm, and the incidence of depressive disorder in the surgical inpatients was 37.2%. Unvaried analysis showed that depressive disorder were associated with gender, education, economic condition, variety of diseases, hospitalization duration, and treatment methods. Logistic regression analysis revealed that gender, economic condition, treatment methods and previous history were the main influencing factors.

CONCLUSIONSThe incidence of depressive disorder in the surgical inpatients is high, and it is mainly influenced by gender, economic condition, treatment methods and previous history.