[Enviromental factors related to depressive disorders]

As a result of their high prevalence, mayor depressive disorder single episode (MDDSE); major depressive disorder recurrent episodes (MDDREC); and dysthymia are considered an important public health problem. The objective of this paper was to identify and correlate environmental factors in patients with MDDSE, MDDREC and dysthymia.121 patients from the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social's Subzone General Hospital of San Andres Tuxtla, at Veracruz, were questioned by history with the risk variables.16 of them were diagnosed with MDDREC, 72 with MDD and 33 with dysthymia; in all of those cases, females prevailed. Depressive disorders were observed more frequently in people over 40 years, married, with medium or low educational level, with dysfunctional family environment, victims of family violence and who were the middle siblings. The main comorbidities that arose were gastrointestinal disorders, obesity and hypertension.16 of them were diagnosed with MDDREC, 72 with MDD and 33 with dysthymia; in all of those cases, females prevailed. Depressive disorders were observed more frequently in people over 40 years, married, with medium or low educational level, with dysfunctional family environment, victims of family violence and who were the middle siblings. The main comorbidities that arose were gastrointestinal disorders, obesity and hypertension.The main risk factors identified for developing depressive disorders were: being female, over 40 years old and being married. The differences obtained in this study, if it is compared with others, are probably due to sample size, selection criteria and ethnic origin.Introducción: debido a su alta prevalencia, la depresión mayor, episodio único (DMEU); la depresión mayor recurrente (DMR); y la distimia son consideradas un problema importante de salud pública. El objetivo de este estudio fue identificar y relacionar los factores ambientales en pacientes con DMEU, DMR y distimia. Métodos: 121 pacientes procedentes del Hospital General de Subzona del Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS) de San Andrés Tuxtla, Veracruz, fueron cuestionados mediante una historia clínica con las variables de riesgo. Resultados: 16 pacientes presentaron DMEU, 72 DMR y 33 distimia. En todos prevaleció el sexo femenino. Los trastornos depresivos se observaron con más frecuencia en personas de más de 40 años, casadas, con un nivel de estudios medio o bajo, provenientes de una familia disfuncional, víctimas de violencia familiar, además de ser hijos intermedios. Las comorbilidades que se presentaron fueron trastornos gastrointestinales, obesidad e hipertensión arterial. Conclusión: los principales factores de riesgo que se identificaron para desarrollar trastornos depresivos fueron: ser mujer, tener más de 40 años de edad y estar casada. Las diferencias obtenidas en este estudio respecto a otros probablemente se deban al tamaño de la muestra, los criterios de selección y el origen de la etnia.