Knowledge of and attitude towards depression among urban and rural residents in Beijing: a cross-sectional study

Objectives To compare the level of knowledge of depression, recognition ability and attitudes towards depression among urban and rural residents in Beijing. Design A cross-sectional study. Setting Six districts in Beijing, China, 2021. Participants A total of 6463 participants aged 18 years and above who had lived for more than 6 months over the last year in Beijing were selected in this study. Outcome The awareness and recognition of depression and the views of residents towards people with depression. Results A total of 2554 urban and 2043 rural residents completed the survey. Urban residents of Beijing exhibited a higher average total score on the Depression Knowledge Questionnaire [(20.4 +/- 3.3) vs (18.7 +/- 3.5), p<0.001] and a higher rate of correctly identifying individuals with depression (47.9% vs 36.6%, p<0.001) than their counterparts in rural areas. Residents who correctly identified people with depression had higher scores on the Depression Knowledge Questionnaire. Depression knowledge varied significantly among urban and rural residents. The multivariate linear regression analysis revealed that rural residents scored significantly lower on measures of depression knowledge compared with urban residents (B=-0.83, 95%CI=-1.03 to -0.63, p<0.001). Older individuals (aged 50+) showed lower understanding compared with the 18-49 age group, with significant negative regression coefficients (Urban: B=-1.06, Rural: B=-1.35, both p<0.001). Higher educational levels were positively associated with greater depression knowledge (Urban: B=1.40, Rural: B=1.21, both p<0.001). Employment was linked to higher knowledge levels than unemployment (Urban: B=-0.60, Rural: B=-0.58, both p=0.00). A monthly income of 8000 yuan or more correlated with better depression understanding than lower incomes (Urban: B=0.81, Rural: B=1.04, both p<0.001). Additionally, in urban areas, unmarried residents scored higher in depression knowledge than those divorced (B=-0.55, p=0.04). Residents in urban areas had relatively positive attitudes towards individuals with depression. Conclusions Rural residents of Beijing had lower levels of knowledge and recognition of depression and more negative attitudes towards individuals with depression than those from urban areas. The health authority needs to focus on the poor level of knowledge and increase mental health resources in rural areas as a priority site for future psychological popularisation efforts.