Gender Differences in the Prevalence of Depression, Anxiety, andStress in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: A Cross-Sectional Study at LadyReading Hospital MTI Peshawar

Mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety, and stress are the most common public health problems in the world.According to World Health Organization (WHO) more than 264 million people worldwide expe-1 rience depression, stress and anxiety globally .It has been noted that gender differences in depressive symptoms have been extensively documented, with women reporting a higher number of depressive symptoms than men.The impact of these conditions on global economy is huge, almost exceeding $1 trillion yearly due to low productivity.Despite these mind boggling figures, mental health never remains a priority in many resource limited countries including Pakistan.Mental health is deeply rooted in the social, cultural, religious, 2 spiritual, historical and holistic aspects of human lives .The risk of developing mental disorders is high among the poor, homeless, the unemployed, people with low educational status, migrants and refugees, and indigenous populations.Evidence from Pakistan indicates that the risk factors for developing mental disorders are gender (women are at higher risk), domestic violence, adverse childhood experiences, and lack of social support, stressful life events and low educational status.In Pakistan, the prevalence of these conditions is high and previous studies suggest that women face an increa-