Background: Depression in old age is an important public health problem causing considerable morbidity and disability worldwide. There is a dearth of community studies from India investigating geriatric depression and its associated risk factors. This study aimed to establish the nature, prevalence and factors associated with geriatric depression in a rural south Indian community.Methods: We recruited 1000 participants aged over 65 years from Kaniyambadi block, Vellore, India. We assessed their socio-demographic profile, psychiatric morbidity, cognitive functioning, anthropometrics and disability status using the following structured assessment tools: Geriatric Mental State, Community Screening Instrument for Dementia, Modified CERAD 10 word list learning task, History and Aetiology Schedule Dementia Diagnosis and Subtype, WHO Disability Assessment Scale II, and Neuropsychiatric Inventory. We adopted a case control framework to study the factors associated with geriatric depression.Results: Prevalence of geriatric depression (ICD-10) within the previous one month was 12.7% (95% CI 10.64–14.76%). Low income (OR 1.78; 95% CI 1.08–2.91), experiencing hunger (OR 2.58; 95% CI 1.56–4.26), history of cardiac illnesses (OR 4.75; 95% CI 1.96–11.52), transient ischemic attack (OR 2.43; 95% CI 1.17–5.05), past head injury (OR 2.70; 95% CI 1.36–5.36) and diabetes (OR 2.33; 95% CI 1.15–4.72) increased the risk for geriatric depression after adjusting for other determinants using conditional logistic regression. Having more confidants (OR 0.13; 95% CI 0.06–0.26) was the significant protective factor. Age, female gender, cognitive impairment and disability status were not significantly associated with geriatric depression. DSM-IV diagnosis of major depression was significantly correlated with experiencing hunger, diabetes, transient ischemic attack, past head injury, more disability and less nourishment; having more friends was protective.Conclusions: Geriatric depression is prevalent in rural south India. Poverty and physical ill health are risk factors for depression among elderly while good social support is protective.

Psychosocial stress and social isolation, rather than psychiatric morbidity, are risk factors for suicide in rural south India.

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Background: Indian society is considered to have conservative attitudes regarding sex and is ambivalent about the concept of sex education. Previous reports suggest that a considerable proportion of Indian youth have inadequate sexual knowledge and hold a variety of sexual misconceptions. Methodological flaws limit the generalizability of some earlier studies. Aims: This study assessed knowledge and attitude toward sexual health and common sexual practices among college students in Tamil Nadu. Methodology: A total of 952 students from seven randomly selected colleges in Vellore district of Tamil Nadu participated in the survey. The survey questionnaire contained 51 questions on knowledge and attitude toward sexual health and common sexual practices and incorporated items from standardized questionnaires and additional questions suggested by a multidisciplinary group who work in the field. Results: Two hundred seventy-five students among those who completed the survey were women. Higher knowledge scores were associated with older age, male gender, being from a rural background, pursuing non-science streams, and being in postgraduate courses. Nonconservative attitudes were associated with older age, male gender, enrollment in non-science disciplines, discomfort with the family environment, and a religious family background. Conclusions: Sexual knowledge is inadequate and sexual misconceptions were widely prevalent in the population studied. School-based comprehensive sex education programs, which have been demonstrated to be effective in improving sexual health, could be used to deal with these lacunae in sexual health knowledge and attitudes.