Introduction: Depression is a common public health issue with the increasing life expectancy worldwide and depression is associated with morbidity as well as disability among the elderly. There are very few studies re...Introduction: Depression is a common public health issue with the increasing life expectancy worldwide and depression is associated with morbidity as well as disability among the elderly. There are very few studies related with depression among elderly from developing countries. Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of depression and its correlates among the elderly living in Briddashram (old age home). Methods: This is a cross-sectional study carried out in 2012. Data were collected by face-to-face interview using short version of Geriatric Depression Scale. The data were analyzed using percentage, mean, simple correlation and regression. Results: The subjects (N = 185) were elderly aged 60 years and above living in Devghat area, Nepal. Mean age of the subjects was 73.67 (±3.23) years old and 51% were male. 94% elderly belong to Khas ethnicity. Nearly one third (31%) elderly were from nuclear family back ground, 25% were married, and only 18% elderly were literate. Majority of the elderly (93%) had health problems and self reported health shows 86% elderly reported their health fair. This study shows mean functional disability score was 2.53 (±2.05). Finding shows the prevalence of depression was 57.8%. Among them 46.7% had mild, 8.9% had moderate and 2.2% had severe depression. A statistically significant correlation was found between feelings of depression and age, sex, previous family type, ethnicity, feeling of loneliness and instrumental activities of daily living. Regression analysis shows that being women, feeling of loneliness and higher the dependency in IADL were predictors of depression. Conclusion: This study indicates that many elderly living in the Briddashram are suffering from depression. There should be some interruption from the concerned authorities so that depression can be reduced which will support to the well-being and quality of life of elderly.展开更多
文摘Introduction: Depression is a common public health issue with the increasing life expectancy worldwide and depression is associated with morbidity as well as disability among the elderly. There are very few studies related with depression among elderly from developing countries. Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of depression and its correlates among the elderly living in Briddashram (old age home). Methods: This is a cross-sectional study carried out in 2012. Data were collected by face-to-face interview using short version of Geriatric Depression Scale. The data were analyzed using percentage, mean, simple correlation and regression. Results: The subjects (N = 185) were elderly aged 60 years and above living in Devghat area, Nepal. Mean age of the subjects was 73.67 (±3.23) years old and 51% were male. 94% elderly belong to Khas ethnicity. Nearly one third (31%) elderly were from nuclear family back ground, 25% were married, and only 18% elderly were literate. Majority of the elderly (93%) had health problems and self reported health shows 86% elderly reported their health fair. This study shows mean functional disability score was 2.53 (±2.05). Finding shows the prevalence of depression was 57.8%. Among them 46.7% had mild, 8.9% had moderate and 2.2% had severe depression. A statistically significant correlation was found between feelings of depression and age, sex, previous family type, ethnicity, feeling of loneliness and instrumental activities of daily living. Regression analysis shows that being women, feeling of loneliness and higher the dependency in IADL were predictors of depression. Conclusion: This study indicates that many elderly living in the Briddashram are suffering from depression. There should be some interruption from the concerned authorities so that depression can be reduced which will support to the well-being and quality of life of elderly.
