eng Oriental Scientific Publishing Company Biomedical and Pharmacology Journal 0974-6242 2026-09-30 19 3 2755 2767 10.13005/bpj/3532 73343 article Nihal Abitiu 1 Amina Bouziani 1 Zakaria Hemicha 2 Adiba Qorchi 2 Hefdhallah AL-Aizari 3 Hasnae Benkirane 1 Laboratory of Innovation and Research in Educational and Training Professions (LIRAMEF), School of Education and Training (ESEF), Ibn Tofaïl University, Kenitra, Morocco. Laboratory of Biology and Health, Kenitra, University Ibn Tofail, Morocco. Laboratory of natural resources and sustainable development, Ibn Tofail University, Kenitra, Morocco Depression is a widespread public health issue in Morocco, with depressive disorders ranking among the most important determinants of population ill-health. However, studies specifically characterizing the symptom profile of depression among Moroccan adults remain scarce. This study aims to assess depression and its associated factors among the population of Casablanca, Morocco. We conducted a cross-sectional study involving 135 Moroccan adults from the Casablanca region. Participants completed the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) short form alongside a sociodemographic questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, item response frequencies, and Pearson correlations were applied. The mean BDI score was 6.57 (SD = 3.49) (range: 1–16), indicating mild depressive symptoms on average based on the scale's conventional thresholds. The BDI demonstrated acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.72). The study also found a sample obesity rate of 47.0% prevalence of obesity among participants. Item-level analysis revealed a notable dissociation: while cognitive items showed very high resilience (92.5% reported no guilt; 88.8% reported no self-disappointment), somatic and mood symptoms were considerably more prevalent only 30.6%, 43.3%, and 44.0% reported an absence of sadness, work difficulty, and fatigue, respectively. Loss of interest in others and indecisiveness were strongly correlated (r = 0.757, p < .001). Guilt and self-disappointment were also strongly correlated (r = 0.821, p < .001). These findings suggest that somatic and mood symptoms are more common than cognitive-affective symptoms in this Moroccan sample, which relative to Western individualistic patterns may be indicative of culturally patterned somatization. The substantial overlap between guilt and self-disappointment points to potential opportunities for scale refinement, while the strong association with social withdrawal and indecisiveness calls for community-based intervention strategies. Clinicians should maintain a high index of suspicion for underlying depression when patients present with unexplained persistent fatigue or work difficulty, and culturally adapted, somatically-oriented interventions appear warranted. https://biomedpharmajournal.org/vol19no3/depressive-symptom-profiles-among-adults-in-casablanca-a-cross-sectional-beck-depression-inventory-bdi-item-level-analysis/ Beck depression Inventory BMI Depression Obesity Psychometrics Somatic symptoms