ArticleHealth SA = SA Gesondheid2025
Psychological distress in South Africa: Analysis of 2017 national household survey data.
Article in Health SA = SA Gesondheid, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: The prevalence of psychological distress in South Africa requires updated estimates. Aim: This article aims to determine the prevalence of and factors associated with non-specific psychological distress at a national level in South Africa in 2017. Setting: The study utilised data from a 2017 nationally representative, cross-sectional, population-based household survey. Methods: Interviews were conducted with 36 609 individuals, aged ≥15 years. Prevalence of psychological distress, using the Kessler-10 scale, was varied by demographics, health status, substance use and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Chi-square tests, univariate analyses and a multivariate logistic model were constructed. Collinearity between independent variables was assessed. Results: Almost half (47%) of the respondents could be classified as psychologically distressed. Higher levels of psychological distress were observed for women (52.6%), among those aged 25 years - 49 years (53.8%), black Africans (84.2%), those with secondary school level of education (64.1%), unmarried people (73.7%) and those residing in urban areas (63.5%). The multivariate logistic regression model found significant differences for sex, self-reported health status, alcohol use, employment status and locality. Human immunodeficiency virus serostatus did not play a major role in psychological distress. Conclusion: Special attention should be paid to women in the age group of 25 years - 49 years, the unemployed, those with poor general health and people living in urban areas to address the high prevalence of psychological distress in South Africa. Contribution: This study adds to the literature on the psychological distress amongst those living in South Africa.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.