Table 4 Characteristics of associated factors for depression in prisoners in Ethiopia by their Odds ratio, Confidence interval, association strength, author and year of publication

Having children

2.48

1.60,3.83

Moderate, positive

Alemayehu et al.,2019 [20]

Health satisfaction rated as moderate

3.2

1.12,9.00

Strong and positive

Alemayehu et al. 2019 [20]

Health satisfaction rated as dissatisfied

1.63

1.02,2.62

Moderate, positive

Alemayehu et al. 2019 [20]

Being sentenced for more than 5 years

2.31

1.01,5.25

Moderate, positive

Alemayehu et al. 2019 [20]

Being sentenced for 1–5 years

3.04

1.20,7.71

Strong and positive

Alemayehu et al. 2019 [20]

Not satisfied with day to day life before imprisonment

0.44

0.26,0.63

Moderate, negative

Beyen et al. 2017 [22]

Thought of facing difficulty to run life as before after release

1.87

1.3,2.69

Moderate, positive

Beyen et al. 2017 [22]

Having a plan to commit suicide

4.16

2.56,6.77

Strong and positive

Beyen et al. 2017 [22]

Good social support

0.62

0.44,0.89

Strong and negative

Beyen et al. 2017 [22]

Prison setting being at Gondar

1.54

1.04,2.29

Moderate, positive

Beyen et al. 2017 [22]

Prison setting being at Debre-tabor

2.27

1.46,3.51

Moderate, positive

Beyen et al. 2017 [22]

Having family history of mental illness

6.05

2.60,13.8

Strong and positive

Abdu et al. 2018 [23]

Having chronic physical illness

2.87

1.29,6.41

Moderate, positive

Abdu et al. 2018 [23]

Having history of previous incarceration

3.26

1.02,10.64

Strong and positive

Abdu et al. 2018 [23]

Lack of job in the prison

4.96

2.09,11.8

Strong and positive

Abdu et al. 2018 [23]

Lifetime alcohol use

3.61

1.80,7.26

Strong and positive

Abdu et al. 2018 [23]

Thinking life to be a difficult one after release from prison

2.07

1.20,3.60

Moderate, positive

Abdu et al. 2018 [23]

Having age between 21 and 25 years

2.04

1.06,3.89

Moderate, positive

Abdu et al. 2018 [23]

Poor social support

2.2

1.27,3.82

Moderate, positive

Abdu et al. 2018 [23]

Primary education

4.17

1.65,10.48

Strong and positive

Getaneh et al. 2019 [26]

Perceived stigma

3.88

2.08,7.25

Strong and positive

Getaneh et al. 2019 [26]

History of chronic illness

2.88

1.34,6.17

Moderate, positive

Getaneh et al. 2019 [26]

WHO clinical stage II AIDS

2.47

1.19,5.12

Moderate, positive

Getaneh et al. 2019 [26]

Length of stay in prison 4–6 years

2.27

1.22,4.23

Moderate, positive

Getaneh et al. 2019 [26]

Length of stay in prison ≥10 years

3.5

1.15,10.85

Strong and positive

Getaneh et al. 2019 [26]

Not participating in IGA inside the prison

0.53

0.32,0.87

Moderate, negative

Bedaso et al. 2018 [21]

Having chronic disease

2.62

1.29,5.32

Moderate, positive

Bedaso et al. 2018 [21]

History of Chat chewing

2.47

1.04,5.85

Moderate, positive

Bedaso et al. 2018 [21]

Widowed

6.3

1.09,36.67

Strong and positive

Reta et al. 2019 [25]

Educated at college or university level

5.34

1.59,17.94

Strong and positive

Reta et al. 2019 [25]

A history of suicidal attempt

2.76

1.04,7.31

Moderate, positive

Reta et al. 2019 [25]

Ever faced a severe stressful life event

2.57

1.41,4.67

Moderate, positive

Reta et al. 2019 [25]

5–10 years of sentence

2.5

1.32,4.79

Moderate, positive

Reta et al. 2019 [25]

Having chronic medical illness

3.32

1.26,8.75

Strong and positive

Reta et al. 2019 [25]