Introduction Pakistan is a developing country and presently Pakistani people are facing political, economic and social crisis in addition to security threats. It has been observed that social, political and economic instability and feelings of insecurity in general create distress which seriously affects the mental health of an individual. For the last two decades, electronic and print media have created awareness about psychological problems and psychiatric disorders in the general public. It was reported in 'Pakistan Today' that psychological disorders are on the rise, and malestal illnesses are reaching alarming proportions as 50 to 60 patients visit the psychiatric department in hospitals on a daily basis. Moreover, the report of Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) indicated that 34% of country's population is suffering from some form of mental illness. 1 In a depressive episode, individuals not only experience changes in mood but it also affects the other areas of life. It disturbs individual's ability of thinking, concentration, motivation, physical activity and other areas of functioning. 2 Unipolar depression is more common among females than males. 3 About twice as many females as males meet the criteria for major depressive disorder or dysthymic disorder at some time in their lives. 4 The absolute prevalence of depression varies substantially across cultures and nations, but differences in depression vis-a- vis gender remain significant across most demographic and cultural groups. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimated that depression is the leading cause of disease-related disability for females in the world today. 5 Further gender-wise differences in depression have been reported across 29 countries. They used the data from the World Values Survey across 20 countries. Through multilevel logistic models to examine gender differences in depression, they found that there is no country where the males are more likely to be depressed than females. 6 Similarly, it is also found that females were approximately two times more likely to report a lifetime episode for Major Depressive Disorder than males in young adults (n=1197, 528 males and 669 females) of urban, Afro- Americans with an age range of 19--22 years. 7 Further, gender differences in depression were also investigated in urban south Indian population. The odds ratio (OR) for depression in female subjects was 1.20 [confidence intervals (CI):1.12-1.28; p<0.001] compared to the male J Pak Med Assoc 292 ORIGINAL ARTICLE MajordepressioninJalalPurJattan,districtGujrat,Pakistan:Prevalenceand gender differences Noureena Kausar, 1 Saima Dawood Khan, 2 Bushra Akram 3 Abstract Objectives: To assess the prevalence of depression along gender lines in the general population. Methods: Using multistage stratified proportionate sampling, the cross-sectional study was conducted in four Union Councils of Jalal Pur Jattan in Gujrat, Pakistan from November 2011 to November 2012. From each stratum, two samples were taken: adults and adolescents. Then each sample was divided into adult males and adult females (20-45 years); adolescent boys and adolescent girls (13-19 years). The questionnaire was developed on the basis of diagnostic criteria given in the revised version of the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Results: Of the total population of 28,259, 1117(3.6%) were approached for the study. Of them, 1110(99.3%) people participated. Overall, 173(15%) were found to be vulnerable to psychological problems whereas 59 (5.31%) were found as vulnerable cases to depression. However, the diagnosis of major depression was handed to 38(3.4%) respondents. Of these 38 subjects, 7(18.42%) persons were suffering from mild; 22(57.89%) from moderate, and 9(23.68%) from severe symptoms. Further, 30(78.9%) of these subjects were women. Conclusion: Major depression was prevailing in the community of Jalal Pur Jattan in almost the same ratio as in other places around the globe, and, therefore, the inhabitants need psychiatric services. Keywords: Gender difference, Prevalence, Major depression, Multistage stratified proportionate sampling, Diagnostic interviews. (JPMA 65: 292; 2015) 1,3 Department of Psychology, Gujrat University, Gujrat, 2 Center for Clinical Psychology, Punjab University, Lahore, Pakistan. Correspondence: Bushra Akram. Email: bushra.akram@uog.edu.pk