Objective: To investigate the prevalence of depressive disorder in patients undergoing general surgical operations.
Methods: One hundred and four patients who had undergone general surgical operations were investigated. Each patient filled in the self rating depression scale (SDS) as the baseline data.
Results: Among these patients 40.4% of them had depressive disorder. The major factors for the prevalence of depression were sex, educational background and malignant diseases.
Conclusions: A certain proportion of patients undergoing general surgical operations have depressive disorder. It is important to recognize and treat for this disorder.