Depression among elderly attending geriatric clubs in Assiut City, Egypt

Depression among elderly attending geriatric clubs in Assiut City, Egypt

Eman M. Mohamed*1, Mohamed A Abd-Elhamed 2

Journal of American Science 2011; 7(11): 386-391]. (ISSN: 1545-1003). http://www.americanscience.org

Background

with the growth of aging population in the community, mental health problems among elderly are receiving more attention. Aim of the study: to investigate prevalence and risk factors associated with geriatric depression among attendants of geriatric clubs in Assiut City, Egypt.

Subjects and methods

A crosssectional study was conducted in two geriatric clubs in Assiut City among attendants aged 60 years and more. Trained nursing interviewers collected data through personal interview. Collected data included demographic characteristics and present medical history. Geriatric depression scale-short form (GDS-SF) was used to evaluate the depressive symptoms of the elderly subjects in the past one week. Geriatric depression was defined as a score of > 5 on the GDS-SF.

Results

The prevalence of geriatric depression was 25.3% in 466 participants, with a higher rate in women (29.0%) than men (20.0%). Geriatric depression was significantly associated (P<0.05) with: female gender, divorced/ separated marital status, lower educational level, living alone and some chronic diseases as cardiovascular disease and arthritis. On multivariate logistic regression analysis, the main risk factors for geriatric depression were: divorced/separated marital status (OR 2.29), living alone (OR 2.06), history of cardiovascular disease (OR 2.25), lower education (OR 1.67), female gender (OR 1.45) and age group 60-65 (OR 1.48).

Conclusion and recommendations

Mental health of the elderly should receive more attention. Geriatric depression is an underestimated public health problem in our community, with women having higher prevalence than men. Establishment of integrated geriatric health care centers must be considered for primary prevention and early detection of geriatric health problems including depression. [Eman M. Mohamed, Mohamed A Abd-Elhamed Depression among elderly attending geriatric clubs in Assiut City, Egypt].

Key words

Depression-elderly-geriatric mental health- prevalence-risk factors

http://www.jofamericanscience.org/journals/am-sci/am0711/047_7451am0711_386_391.pdf