Symptoms of Depression among Outpatients with Acute Respiratory Infection in Metropolitan Local Government Areas of Kaduna State, Nigeria

Background The novel SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has redefined global health and response to Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI). The outbreak of a cluster of influenza-like illnesses in Wuhan, China, has morphed into a pandemic in the last quarter of 2019, stretching from South East Asia to Europe, The Americas, Africa, and the Australian subcontinent. Materials and Methods We shall utilize a cross-sectional, observational design to investigate the prevalence of symptoms of depression among outpatients with ARI and describe the characteristics of outpatients with ARI in Kaduna State. Results The prevalence of symptoms of depression was 19.6% for respondents with symptoms of ARI, and 14.4%, for those without symptoms of ARI. On no risk of depression, we had a higher proportion of the respondents without symptoms of ARI (86%) than those with symptoms of depression (80%) (M=318.4, SD=29.62 case, and M=344.0, SD=14.2 control, r=0.88, CI=13.5 to 6.5, P=0.000952). Likewise, in the category with mild risk of depression, respondents without symptoms of ARI were fewer (10%) than those with symptoms of depression (15%) (M=58.4, SD=26.0 case, and M=42.1, SD=12.7 control, r=0.86, CI=11.8 to 5.8, P=0.0136. There was no significant difference between respondents with symptoms of ARI and without symptoms of ARI in the categories of moderate (M=13.6, SD=5.1 case, and M=11.6, SD=4.6 control, r=0.87, CI=2.3 to 2.1, P=0.178) and high (M=5.6, SD=2.5 case, and M=4.4, SD=3.2 control, r=0.61, CI=1.2 to 1.5, P=0.174) risk of depression. Conclusion Symptoms of depression were commoner among respondents who presented with symptoms of Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI) at the Outpatient Department (OPD). However, further explanatory research is needed to establish causality.