Geriatric Depression and Associated Risk Factors: A Cross-sectional Study in an Urban Setting.

ABSTRACT

The geriatric population in India is steadily rising over the past years. The healthcare sector in India has been focusing on somatic age related diseases, neglecting psychological disorders faced by this population. Depression is the most common psychiatric disorder in this group and is frequently under diagnosed because its symptoms are not reported considering them to be age related. Changing cultural traditions and emergence of nuclear families in urban areas of India has left the elderly lonely and insecure, making them more prone to depression. In this view, a study was conducted to assess the prevalence of depression in apparently healthy elderly living in a city and to find the associated risk factors. A cross-sectional study was conducted where 100 elderly (. 60 years) were interviewed by visiting old age homes and residential areas located in Panvel, Navi Mumbai. The geriatric depression scale-short form (GDS-SF) was used to assess their depression status. Various sociodemographic factors were analyzed to see their association with depression. In this study, 31% of the participants suffered from depression (GDS score >5). A significant association was observed between depression and the risk factors age, education, place of residence and comorbid conditions. No significant association was observed with gender, marital status, family type or financial status. The study shows that the prevalence of geriatric depression is moderately high even in urban settings in India. With increasing geriatric population, there is a need for greater attention toward the elderly and formulation of welfare services toward their betterment.