Uganda has highest PTSD and depression

GULU, Uganda, June 4 (UPI) -- Uganda has the highest rate of post-traumatic stress disorder and depression ever recorded, British and Ugandan researchers said.

Research conducted by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and Gulu University found that 54 percent of those interviewed met symptom criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder, while 67 percent showed signs of depression.

"Many of the people interviewed experienced ill health without medical care, experienced rape or sexual abuse, lack of food and water as well as higher rates of trauma exposure," lead author Bayard Roberts of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine said in a statement.

The findings were published in the journal BMC Psychiatry.