Prevalence, associated risk factors of depression and mental health needs among geriatric population of an urban slum, Cuttack, Odisha

Abstract

Objectives To find the prevalence of depression among elderly population of urban slum of Cuttack and to study its association with sociodemographic factors, comorbidities, and various life events and also to explore the mental health needs of the study subjects as perceived by them. Methods It was a cross‐sectional study carried out in the urban slum, Jobra of Cuttack city in Odisha. Simple random sampling was done using random number table to select the study subjects. Predesigned pretested questionnaire including Geriatric Depression Scale, Lawton's Instrumental Activities of Daily Living, and Katz Index of Independence in Activities of Daily living and questions on important life events including their perceptions regarding existing mental health services were used for data collection. Data were analyzed using SPSS, and binary logistic analysis was done to find the independent determinants of severe depression among elderly. Results Out of 354 study subjects, 249 (70.3%) were males. Depression in severe and mild form was present among 44.9% and 36.2%, respectively. Independent risk factors of severe depression by multiple logistic regression analysis were low socioeconomic class, female gender, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, death in family members, conflicts in family, and chronic illness in family members. Conclusion The prevalence of depression among the elderly in the urban slum was close to 80% with 45% being at risk of severe depression. Females from low socioeconomic class with comorbidities and having life stressors need to be screened regularly in the community level, and facility for counseling should be provided to them.

Social determinants of mental health of women living in slum: a systematic review

“…The strongest factors that could af- Table 4. Continued Fatemeh Abdi, et al Mental health of women living in slum fect mental health according to the studies were related to household income and socioeconomic status, which were highlighted in 10 studies [16,17,21,23,26,30,34,35,37,38]. These studies indicated low income, poverty, and low socioeconomic status can lead to poor mental health in women.…”

“…The reviewed studies examined different aspects. Structural factors such as gender, level of education, age, social and economic status, household income, marital status, number of households, place of birth, occupation, religion, and place of residence were among the factors covered [16][17][18][19]21,[23][24][25][26][27][28][30][31][32]34,[36][37][38]. The strongest factors that could af- Table 4.…”

“…The second factor affecting women's lower mental health was gender. Seven articles examined the relationship between gender and mental health [16,17,19,25,27,30,34], three of which showed that women were more susceptible to mental disorders [16,17,30], one study reported this issue in men [25], and three studies showed no relationship in this regard [19,27,34]. Six studies also examined the relationship between age and mental health [21,24,[26][27][28]34].…”

“…Disease status [17,28,30] and disability [30] were studied in four articles. Chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension or physical disabilities can also be linked to mental disorders in women.…”

“…Social determinants of mediators affecting mental health may also include living conditions [27,34,35], family conditions [17,23,34,37], domestic violence [22,29,33], nutritional status [20,21,25,34,35], and social factors [18,23,31,35,38].…”