Prevalence of depression in elderly population in the southern part of Punjab

Abstract

Background:Depressive symptoms are often not detected properly in elderly. The aim of this study was to explore the prevalence of depressive symptoms and possible co relational factors among elderly population.Materials and Methods:In a cross-sectional study, 100 elderly persons were screened. Geriatric depression scale (GDS) was used to assess depressive symptoms. A self-rating questionnaire was used to detect some sociodemographics and clinical variables.Results:100 respondents interviewed, 40 were 70 years and above and 41% were male. Sixty individuals (25 males and 35 females) were found to be mildly depressed. Seventeen (4 males and 13 females) were suffering from severe depression.Conclusion:This study is in line with previous studies showing the high prevalence of depression in elderly. Results suggest a proper screening for depression among elderly.

Prevalence of depression and associated risk factors among the elderly in rural field practice areas of a tertiary care institution in Katihar, Bihar

“…Contradictory to the findings as reported by majority of Indian studies no significant association was observed between education and employment status with depression. 11,14,15 In contrast to other studies no association was observed between depression and family composition. 10,16 …”

“…Similar findings were also reported in other studies. 10,11,13,14,16 However no such findings were observed by Kumar et al and Goyal et al 12,15 As reported by Sinha et al and Taqui et al those who were single (divorced, separated, widow, unmarried) were found to be more susceptible for depression. 13,16 But such type of findings was not reported in other studies.…”

“…13,16 But such type of findings was not reported in other studies. 10,15 Depression was found significantly higher among those who belonged to upper socioeconomic group and those who were not financially dependent on other. Contradictory to the findings as reported by majority of Indian studies no significant association was observed between education and employment status with depression.…”

“…[10][11][12] However, on the other hand the prevalence of depression was much lower as that reported in various other Indian studies. [13][14][15][16] This wide variation in prevalence rates of depression might be due to differences in baseline characteristic of study population and different sample sizes or might be attributed to the method used for assessment of depression. In the present study female preponderance was found to be significantly associated with depression.…”

A Comparative Study of Prevalence of Depression and Associated Risk Factors among the Elderly Population

“…This was in contrary with study report of Sengupta P 7 and some other authors 10,11 , in which they reported more statistically significant female preponderance. However no such findings were observed by Kumar et al 12 and Goyal et al 13 .…”