A cross-sectional study on geriatric depression and its associated risk factors in an urban area of Hyderabad, India
Background: The geriatric population is increasing with advancements in the health sector all over the world. At the same time, old age tackles physical, mental and social challenges. Mental health of the elderly is least concerned in developing countries, especially depression, which is easy to screen and our study aims to know its burden and associated risk factors.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted between October 2021 and November 2021 among the geriatric population of Mansoorabad, an urban area in Hyderabad, using the short form of geriatric depression scale (GDS) to assess their depression status. Study subjects who met our criteria were selected through simple random sampling. Data collected were entered and analyzed with MS excel software 2007 and Epi info 3.5.3.Results: In our study sample of 161, males were 61 (37.9%), females-100(62.1%). Most of the study subjects were in the age group 60-70 years (137, 85.1%), followed by the 70-80 years age group (24, 14.9%). Nearly 59.6% of subjects had no depression, 19.9% suffered from mild depression, 8.1%-moderately depressed, whereas 12.4%-severely depressed. The mean age of subjects was 65.6 (±5.9) years. Chi-square test was used to study the association of various factors with geriatric depression and age group, and socio-economic status showed a statistically significant association.Conclusions: This study points towards the sensitization of healthcare workers and other subsidiary health personnel at the grassroots level to detect geriatric depression in nascent stages. Many longitudinal follow-up studies are needed to address various aspects of depression.