Jacinta Ndegwa et al./ Elixir Psychology 143 (2020) 54471-54476 54471 Introduction Depression is a serious mental disease that affects both the mind and the body. It can be defined as a state of intense sadness or despair that has progressed to a level that negatively affects an individual‟s social functioning and the basic activities of daily living. Depressed people harbor negative thoughts, and this makes them perceive life issues negatively. This negative perception to life issues further complicates the treatment of depression. Many people who experience depressive symptoms lack the motivation to get through the day‟s activities and they experience feelings of sadness and loneliness. According to the World Health Organization [25], those experiencing depression may often lose interest in daily activities, suffer from low self-esteem, recognize a loss of energy, and experience difficulty with sleep patterns. Other symptoms of depression include irritability, fatigue, apathy, and sadness. When these feelings become stronger and more consistent, substance abuse and risky sexual behavior tend to become outlets for young adults who experience frequent low feelings. It has further been observed that untreated depression can result in poor health, substance abuse, and suicide in more severe cases [7]. . Depression is a significant public health concern worldwide and it has been ranked as the leading cause of disability worldwide in terms of total years lost due to disability. There are numerous forms of depressive disorders, whose classification depends on duration, timing, and etiology of the depressive symptoms. According to the American Psychiatric Association, the most common type of depression is Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). Individuals with the neuropsychiatric MDD express its behavioral, physiological, as well as emotional effects in varied ways. Often, it makes those with it have suicidal thoughts and tendencies owing to the damage it exerts on their quality of life over time. MDD is referred to by different names depending on the context. The names include unipolar depression, clinical depression, and major depression [1]. All over the world, studies have shown high prevalence rates of depression. In the adult population, prevalence rates for depression have been shown to be between 5.0% and 10.3% in the United States of America [15] and 14.6% in South Africa [22]. In Kenya, the prevalence of depression in the adult population has been reported to be 6.8% [10]. Tele: E-mail address: jacinta.ndegwa@uonbi.ac.ke © 2020 Elixir All rights reserved ARTICLE INFO Article history: Received: 6 April 2020; Received in revised form: 7 June 2020; Accepted: 17 June 2020; Keywords Prevalence, Depression, Engineering Students, University of Nairobi, Technical University of Kenya. Prevalence of Depression among University Students in Nairobi County, Kenya: A Comparison of Two Public Universities. Jacinta Ndegwa 1 , Anne Mbwayo 2 ‟ * and Martha Kiarie 1 1 Daystar University. 2 University of Nairobi, Kenya. ABSTRACT Depression is a serious mental disease that affects both young and old people in the society. Depressed people harbor negative thoughts, and this makes them perceive life issues negatively. Depression is common among university students and despite the methods provided for its intervention, the prevalence of depression among university students remain higher than in the general population. The objective of this study was to determine and compare the current prevalence of depression among engineering students at the University of Nairobi and at the Technical University of Kenya. A quasi- experimental research design was adopted, where two Kenyan public universities were conveniently sampled. Engineering students from the University of Nairobi and those from The Technical University of Kenya who were studying undergraduate degree in any engineering courses were sampled for the study. The study data was collected using questionnaires and the Beck‟s Depression Inventory (BDI). The prevalence of depression was determined through proportions obtained from the data from the BDI in the two different universities. The findings indicated that 66.4% of the respondents from University of Nairobi had no depression, 16.9% registered moderate depression levels, 15.5% had mild depression, while 1.2% of the respondents exhibited severe depression. Further, results revealed that 67.1% of the respondents from Technical University of Kenya exhibited had no depression, 16.9% registered mild depression levels, 14.8% had moderate depression, while 1.2% of the respondents exhibited severe depression. The study concluded that about a third of the students studying engineering degree courses at the University of Nairobi and at the Technical University of Kenya are currently going through different levels of depression ranging from mild, moderate and severe depression. The implication of the findings is that depression is a serious concern among university students and therefore should not be ignored. © 2020 Elixir All rights reserved. Elixir Psychology 143 (2020) 54471-54476 Psychology Available online at www.elixirpublishers.com (Elixir International Journal)