Study of Frequency and Severity of Depression in Bandar Lengeh Air Defense Forces

According to high prevalence of depression in armed forces personnel and lack of researchs on their mood status, study of mental health in soldiers and military personnels is very important. This study was conducted to compare the frequency and severity of depression in Bandar Lengeh air defense forces.
Methods and Materials: A population of military forces of Bandar-e Lengeh air defense group were included in the study, including personnel, military students and soldiers. Beck depression inventory was used in this study. The severity of depression was compared among the personnel group, students and soldiers. In addition in the personnel group, the relation between severity of depression and military rank, marital states, years of service and age was evaluated.
The mean and standard deviation of depression score were 12.19 and 11.25 respectively. In total, 53.7% were normal, 16.4% had mild depression, 22.4% had moderate depression and 7.5% had severe depression. The percentage of people with severe and moderate depression in the conscript group was higher than the personnel, and the percentage of healthy and mild depressed people in the personnel group was more than the conscripts. Mean intensity of depression in the conscript group was higher than personnel group, but there was no significant difference between the student and the soldier groups. There was no significant relationship between the severity of depression, military rank, and years of service in the personnel group.
Discussion and Depression in the conscripted forces is more common and more severe than permanent military personnel. Therefore, more considerations should be given to the mood of the forces and other aspects of mental health dimensions should be considered in personnel.