scholarly journals Correlates of Depression Among Elderly Population Residing in a Community in Eastern Nepal

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 325-330 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khem Raj Sharma ◽  
Birendra Kumar Yadav ◽  
Meika Battachan

Introduction: With an increase in life expectancy, demographic transition has led to sharp rise in number of elderly population. The elderly population growth rate per year has always been more than the total population growth rate, signifying the start of the ageing dynamics in Nepal. Mental health is a neglected health problem of the elderly in Nepal, with depression topping the list. This needs to be addressed in the national programs for the elderly to bring about an overall improvement in their health status.Objectives: This study was conducted with objectives to identify the prevalence of depression and factors associated with it in an urban municipality of eastern Nepal.Methodology: A community based cross-sectional study was conducted using the Geriatric Depression Scale- Short Form (GDS-SF) with 15 questions to screen for depression with a cutoff of 4/5. Door to door visit was done for data collection and face to face interviews were conducted. Pearson's Chi-square was used and Odds Ratio (OR) with confidence limits was calculated for inferential statistics. Logistic regression analysis was performed for all independent variables significantly associated in the bivariate analysis.Results: Among the 353 study subjects interviewed, depression was identified in 65.2% by GDS-SF. Regression Model showed that age more than 70 years, being in the lower class of Kuppuswamy Socioeconomic scale and elderly who were not satisfied with the respect given by their community had more odds of being depressed.Conclusion: Prevalence of depression among elderly was found to be very high in this study which was significantly associated with older age, low socio-economic status and perceived lack of respect from the community. BJHS 2018;3(1)5 : 325-330

Author(s):  
Deepthi Karini ◽  
Siva Kumar Lotheti ◽  
Devi Madhavi Bhimarasetty

Background: Depression in old age is an emerging public health problem leading to morbidity and disabling effect on the quality of life. Depression in elderly is not yet perceived as a public health problem and is grossly underdiagnosed and undertreated. The physical and social environment plays an important role on the mental health of the elderly. Hence the present study was undertaken to assess and compare the depression among elderly residing in old age homes (OAHs) and community. The objective of the study was to assess and compare depression among elderly residing in OAHs and those living in community.Methods: A cross sectional study was done from October to December, 2016 among 100 elderly, of which 50 were inmates of old age homes and 50 were living in community selected by house to house survey. A pre tested, externally validated short form geriatric depression scale (GDS-15) in the local language is used after taking informed consent.Results: Prevalence of depression was high among inmates of old age homes (80%) compared to those of community (52%), this difference was statistically significant (p=0.003). On analyzing the association between sociodemographic factors and depression among the elderly residing in the community, it was found that marital status and presence of chronic disease were significantly associated with depression (p<0.05). Whereas among the elderly residing in old age homes, no significant asociation was found between depression and the sociodemographic factors.Conclusions: High prevalence of depression observed among the studied population indicates the need of screening for depression among elderly.


Author(s):  
Yogesh Mohan ◽  
Timsi Jain ◽  
S. Krishna ◽  
A. Rajkumar ◽  
Sathvika Bonigi

Background: Worldwide proportion of elderly population is expected to double from current 12% to 22% by 2050. This growth in elderly population inevitably leads to increase in age related diseases such as depression and serious constrains on quality of life among them. As depression frequently manifest with somatic symptoms like tension, headache and heaviness, etc., most of the elderly persons visit non psychiatry outpatient services seeking relief for their symptoms.Methods: A cross sectional study was done in the field practice area of Saveetha Medical College and Hospital. Geriatric depression scale (GDS) short form was used to measure the level of depression in geriatric population. Structured questionnaire was used in order to assess their physical health, socio-demographic data and social support. Elderly mobility scale was used to measure the level of physical dependency. Proportion and chi-square were used for analysis.Results: Prevalence of depression was found to be 76%. Among depressed elderly 47% had mild depression, 28% had moderate depression and 25% were suffering from severe depression. Severity of depression was also found to be significantly more among those who had lost their life partner and those who were physically dependent on others.Conclusions: Prevalence of depression in the elderly was found to be high moreover none of the elderly were diagnosed to be depressed. Steps like screening for depression among elderly should be undertaken to diagnose the cases of depression, they should be treated and also be given proper counseling sessions to reduce their levels of depression. 


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-18
Author(s):  
Sri Hartutik ◽  
Anjar Nurrohmah

Pandemi Covid -19 merupakan bentuk kasus baru di dunia kesehatan yang mempunyai beragam dampak, baik biologis, psikologis, sosial dan spiritual. Kondisi seperti ini harus benar-benar diwaspadai terutama pada usia rentan dan resiko yaitu salah satunya usia lansia. Depresi pada lansia merupakan gangguan psikiatri dan merupakan masalah kesehatan mental yang sering terjadi dikalangan lanjut usia. Prevalensi depresi didunia sekitar 8-15%. Hasil survey dari berbagai negara di dunia diperoleh prevalensi rata- rata depresi pada lansia adalah 13,5 % dengan perbandingan wanita:pria 14,1: 8,6 dimana wanita dua kali lebih banyak daripada pria. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk Mengetahui gambaran tingkat depresi pada lansia di Masa Pandemic Covid-19. Jenis penelitian ini adalah penelitian desain deskriptif cross sectional dengan teknik consecutive sampling yang bertujuan untuk melihat gambaran tingkat depresi lansia menggunakan instrument penelitian berupa kuesioner Geriatric Depression Scale Short Form (GDS-S). Berdasarkan penelitian didapatkan hasil Umur lansia yang mengalami depresi pada masa Pandemic Covid-19 sebagian besar adalah Usia lanjut (60–74 tahun), jenis kelamin perempuan, status perkawinan lansia sebagian besar  janda, riwayat penyakit lansia sebagian besar  hipertensi, tingkat pendidikan lansia sebagian besar SD. Kesimpulan penelitian gambaran tingkat depresi pada lansia pada masa pandemic covid-19 sebagian besar mengalami depresi ringan. Depression in the elderly is a psychiatric disorder and is a mental health problem that often occurs among the elderly. The prevalence of depression in the world is around 8-15% and survey results from various countries in the world show that the average prevalence of depression in the elderly is 13.5% with the ratio of women: men is 14.1: 8.6 where women are twice as many as men. . This research aimed to determine the level of depression in the elderly during the Covid-19 Pandemic. This type of research used a cross sectional descriptive design with consecutive sampling technique which aims to describe the level of depression in the elderly using a research instrument in the form of a Geriatric Depression Scale Short Form (GDS-S) questionnaire. The result showed Depression during the Covid-19 Pandemic was mostly elderly (60 - 74 years), female sex, most of the elderly marital status was widowed, history of elderly disease was mostly hypertension, education level of the elderly was mostly elementary school. The description of the level of depression in the elderly during the Covid-19 pandemic mostly experienced mild depression.  


2011 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 151-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanne Indermo Solhaug ◽  
Elisabeth Bratland Romuld ◽  
Ulla Romild ◽  
Eystein Stordal

ABSTRACTBackground: Depression is a common disorder in late life. As the elderly population continues to grow worldwide, depression is also likely to become an increasing health problem. The aim of this study was to examine changes in prevalence of depression in various age cohorts over an 11-year period.Methods: This study involved two cross-sectional studies (HUNT 2 and HUNT 3) of all adult inhabitants of the Norwegian county of Nord-Trøndelag with an 11 year-interval between the two studies. The participants aged 45 years or above at HUNT 2 and with a valid depression rating at both HUNT 2 (baseline) and HUNT 3 (follow-up) (N = 16517), were included and divided into five-year age cohorts. Depression was measured by the depression subscale of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS-D).Results: A significant increase in depression was found in all age cohorts from 76 years at follow-up, with the greatest increase (9.6%) in the oldest age cohort (86–90 years at follow-up). The incidence of depression is increasing with age, with over 10% new cases in all age cohorts aged 81 years and above at follow-up. About 5% of the participants in all age cohorts reported depression at both measure points, and there is a decrease in recovery from depression from baseline to follow-up with increasing age.Conclusions: We found increased prevalence of depression and a large number of new cases of depression in the oldest age cohorts.


2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
S Aydoğan ◽  
A Ünsal ◽  
D Arslantaş

Abstract Background Malnutrition is an important cause of morbidity and mortality. Malnutrition increases the number of hospitalizations and prolongs the length of hospitalization by disrupting organ functions, increasing the number and severity of infections and delaying wound healing. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of suspected malnutrition in the elderly, to examine some related variables and to evaluate the depression. Methods The study is a cross-sectional study conducted between March-April 2019 in individuals aged 60 years and older living in Sivrihisar. Sample size was calculated as 579. Cluster sampling method used. Data was collected by door to door in 4 neighborhoods determined by randomly. Mini Nutritional Assessment Test-Short Form (for malnutrition), Katz Daily Living Activities Scale (for dependency) and Geriatric Depression Scale-Short Form (for depression) were used. Chi-square test, Mann Whitney U test and logistic regression analysis were used for the analyzes. Results The study group consisted of 220 (38%) women and 359 (62%) men. The mean age was 68.9±6.4 (ranged 60-93). Frequency of suspected malnutrition was 25% (n = 145). Being 80 years of age or older (OR:3.24, CI:1.53-6.85), having a primary and lower education level (OR:2.54, CI:1.32-4.90), history of chronic illness (OR:2.34, CI:1.33-4.03), using dentures (OR:1.62, CI:1.03-2.55) and suspected depression (OR:4.97, CI:3.17-7.78) are important risk factors for malnutrition. Those with suspicion of malnutrition had lower scores on DLA (z = 8.982;p=0.001). Conclusions Malnutrition was found to be an important health problem for the elderly. The frequency of suspected malnutrition is higher in individuals with depression. Those with suspected malnutrition have higher level of dependency. In order to reduce the frequency of malnutrition, it may be beneficial to increase the awareness of the elderly and caregivers and to give importance to the elderly nutrition of primary health care providers. Key messages Depression is an important risk factor for malnutrition. Malnutrition increases the dependence of the individual on daily activities.


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 16-23
Author(s):  
S. Subedi ◽  
P. Shrestha ◽  
D.K. Thapa

Introduction: Ageing is a normal phenomenon. Various studies shows that there is a sharp rise in the elderly population in the last few years. Prevalence of depression in elderly is found to around 13% in the community sample in various countries. There is a dearth of study related to psychiatric illness in elderly in Nepal. This study was aimed to find the prevalence of depression in elderly and see for various factors associated with elderly depression. Material And Method: This was a cross-sectional study conducted at Siddharthnagar Municipality, Bhairahawa, Rupandehi. 316 elderly were selected by using systematic random sampling technique. A Semi- structured interview schedule was developed to collect Socio-demographic data. The Short Form Geriatric Depression Scale (SF-GDS) was used to find out the prevalence of depression among elderly people. Ethical Approval was obtained from the Institutional Review Committee, Chitwan Medical College and permission was obtained from Siddharthnagar Municipality, Bhairahawa, Rupandehi. The collected data was entered in Epidata 3.1 and the data was exported and analyzed in IBM SPSS 20. Results: There were a total of 316 samples in this study. The mean age of respondents was 68.47 years of age. Majority of the respondents (54.1%) were female and living in joint Family (72.2%). Almost 45.9% respondents were from upper caste groups, 90.5% of respondents were Hindus. Among the married (100%) respondents, 54.6% of respondents were living with spouse and 3.2% were divorced and separated from spouse. Depression was present in 49.4% of respondents were depressed. Among depressed respondents, 46.7% of respondents were having mild depression, 39.2% moderate depression and 14.1% severe depression. Conclusion: The finding of this study concluded that depression among elderly people was a substantial problem in Siddharthnagar Municipality, Bhairahawa, Rupandehi.


Author(s):  
Vandana Ganganapalli ◽  
Sujatha N. ◽  
Bhaskar Kurre

Background: Globally, more than 300 million people of all ages suffer from depression. With an ageing population, depression among the elderly is likely to increase in the coming years, with higher prevalence among the elderly people than that in the general adult population. This study was intended to know the prevalence of depression and factors associated with depression among elderly people.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the urban field practice area of Navodaya Medical College, Raichur. A pre-designed and pre-tested questionnaire was used to interview the elderly person, after taking verbal consent. Depression was assessed using geriatric depression scale (short version). The study duration was from 1st September 2018 – 31st December, 2018 with 360 sample size.Results: Out of 360 elderly people, the prevalence of depression was found to be 31.4 %. The prevalence of depression was more in females 31.9% (63 out of 197). Significant association of depression was noted with age, socio-economic status, marital status, type of family, education and occupation with p<0.05.Conclusions: Around 1/3rd of the study participants were found to be suffering from depression. Depression was significantly associated with age, illiteracy, nuclear family, dependent on family members. Family support to the elderly population may prevent depression.


2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (03) ◽  
pp. 442-1446 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonali Sarkar ◽  
Shivananand Kattimani ◽  
Gautam Roy ◽  
K. C. Premarajan ◽  
Siddharth Sarkar

ABSTRACT Background: Local language screening instruments can be helpful in early assessment of depression in the elderly in the community and primary care population. This study describes the validation of a Tamil version of Geriatric Depression Scale (short form 15 [GDS-15] item) in a rural population. Materials and Methods: A Tamil version of GDS-15 was developed using standardized procedures. The questionnaire was applied in a sample of elderly (aged 60 years and above) from a village in South India. All the participants were also assessed for depression by a clinical interview by a psychiatrist. Results: A total of 242 participants were enrolled, 64.9% of them being females. The mean score on GDS-15 was 7.4 (±3.4), while the point prevalence of depression was 6.2% by clinical interview. The area under the receiver-operator curve was 0.659. The optimal cut-off for the GDS in this sample was found at 7/8 with sensitivity and specificity being 80% and 47.6%, respectively. Conclusion: The Tamil version of GDS-15 can be a useful screening instrument for assessment of depression in the elderly population.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kedar Manandhar ◽  
Ajay Risal ◽  
Oshin Shrestha ◽  
Nirmala Manandhar ◽  
Dipak Kunwar ◽  
...  

Abstract Abstract Background: The increasing elderly population worldwide is likely to increase mental health problems such as geriatric depression, which has mostly been studied in high-income countries. Similar studies are scarce in low-and-middle-income-countries like Nepal. Methods: A cross-sectional, population-based, door-to-door survey was conducted in randomly selected rural and urban population clusters of the Kavre district, Nepal. Trained nurses (field interviewers) administered structured questionnaires that included a validated Nepali version of the Geriatric Depression Scale short form (GDS-15) for identifying geriatric depression among the elderly (≥60 years) participants (N=460). Those scoring ≥6 on GDS-15 were considered depressed. Logistic regression analysis explored the associations of geriatric depression with regard to socio-demographic information, life style, family support and physical well-being. Results: Of the total 460 selected elderly participants, 439 (95.4%) took part in the study. More than half of them were females (54.2%). The mean age was 70.9 (± 8.6) years. Approximately half (50.6%) were rural inhabitants, the majority (86.1%) were illiterate, and about three-fifths (60.1%) were living with their spouses. The gender-and-age adjusted prevalence of geriatric depression was 53.1%. Geriatric depression was significantly associated with rural habitation (AOR 1.6), illiteracy (AOR 2.1), limited time provided by families (AOR 1.8), and exposure to verbal and/or physical abuse (AOR 2.6). Conclusion: Geriatric depression is highly prevalent in Kavre, Nepal. The findings call for urgent prioritization of delivery of elderly mental health care services in the country. Keywords: depression, elderly, lifestyle, mental health, prevalence


Author(s):  
Vivin Vincent ◽  
Jeevithan Shanmugam ◽  
Shanmugapriya Duraisamy ◽  
Padmavathy Loganathan ◽  
Vijay Ganeshkumar ◽  
...  

Background: Depression among elderly is the commonest psychiatric disorder however it is commonly misdiagnosed and under treated. Most of the time it is considered as part of aging process rather than a treatable condition. Diagnosing depression in the elderly is often difficult as a result of presence of cognitive impairment as well as reluctance and denial by the elderly and their family members. Objective of the study was to estimate the prevalence of depression among elderly rural population in South India.  Methods: A community based cross sectional study was conducted over a period of 2 months among 575 elderly people aged 60 years and above in the rural field practice area of a tertiary care hospital in south India using a pre validated Geriatric Depression Scale. Data entered and analysed using MS Excel.Results: 77.56% of the study participants were found to be depressed. Among them 74.66% were mild depressive and 25.34% had severe depression. Depression was common in elderly males as compared to females. The prevalence of depression was higher in those who live single and those living with their children without their spouse and those with co morbidities.Conclusions: Prevalence of depression among elderly is high in rural areas. It also increases as the age increases. Early identification and timely intervention would promote healthy old age.


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