Depression: Leading cause of disease burden among adult women – Expert

President, International Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professionals, Professor Yinka Omigbodun, has described depression as the leading cause of disease burden among adult women, and the reason for 75 per cent of mental health problem in adolescent girls.

Omigbodun, the Head of Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Oyo State, spoke on women and mental health at the fifth National Women’s Summit of the Oyo State Officials Wives Association.

The physiatrist, who remarked that cultural practices such as child marriage, had negative consequence on mental health of women and girls, said women were more prone to depression  because of factors such as menstrual cycle and medical disorders like asthma and migraine.

Omigbodun stated that deaths as a result of pregnancy were more in girls who marry young and as a result, their children were also more predisposed to mental challenges as life progresses.

According to her, “if a woman has asthma, she is more likely to get worse around the time of her period and may have what is called premenstrual tension.

“Also, women who have migraine are more likely to have it around the time of their period. Also, mental health disorders are more likely to occur around the time of menstrual period because of the changes in the hormones.

“In fact, many women before their period start to feel emotional and depressed and some even feel restless on certain days and act in ways people around them do not fully understand,” she said.

Omigbodun, who noted that many women also pass through difficult situations of life that expose them to mental health challenges, said that many states in the country do not domesticate the convention of the right of a child.

According to her, “This disposition towards child and adolescent matters, including gender inequalities, has consequence for females. In many cultures, girl-child is denied many things including education, thus affecting her mental health.

“Many girls are also subjected to female genital mutilation, sexual abuse and so on and these have consequences on their mental health,” she added.

The expert also stated that if a woman is stressed during pregnancy, this affects her unborn baby, adding “such babies may end up with mental challenges like irritability, hyperactivity, sleeping and thinking problems.”