Depression Among Rural Aged : Facts & Reasons

Abstract

general population and approximately 10% in chronically ill medical out patients. It is a major cause of disability and of suicide. If comorbid with a medical condition depression magnifies disability, diminishes adherence to medical treatment and rehabilitation and may even shorten life expectancy. Such comorbid depression may incrementally worsen health more than any combination of chronic diseases without depression 2 .There is ongoing debate as to whether the prevalence IntroductionDepression is a common problem among older adults, but it is not a normal part of aging. It may be overlooked because for some older adults who have depression, sadness is not their main symptom. They may have other less obvious symptoms of depression or they may not be willing to talk about their feelings. Therefore doctors may be less likely to recognized that their patient has depression 1 .Depressive disorder has prevalence of 5% in the In Bangladesh person aged 60 years or above are considered to elderly. 5.9% of total population are within the age group of 55-65years and 65 years old or above are 5% of the total population. Elderly dependency ratio is 7.3%. Depression is a common problem among the older people, but it is not a normal part of aging. The aim of this study was to find out the level of depression, factors associated with depression and health problems among the respondents . Material and Methods:This descriptive cross sectional study was carried among 829 people aged more than 60 years by purposive sampling technique from 7th to 9th December, 2014 in different vilages of Dhamrai Upazila,Dhaka. Data were collected on a pretested questionnaire by face to face interview using short form of GDS. Data were analyzed manually and by using computer.Results: Then study revealed that majority of the respondents (82%) were Muslims by religion. About 39% respondents were aged more than 70 years and mean age was 68±3.7 years. Most of them (52%) were illiterate and only 5% had received HSC or higher education. About 15% respondents' occupation were service and 47% of the respondents were housewives. Among all the respondents about 22% & 26% were found to have 2& 3 number of children respectively. About 27% & 18% respondents were suffering from mild & moderate depression respectively. Feeling burden on others, physical disability, lack of close family ties & Living alone were found the main factors of depression in 27%, 26%, 26% & 22% respondents respectively. About 59%, 57%, 49% & 28% respondents were suffering from poor vision, musculo-skeletal diseases, hypertension & chest pain respectively. Conclusion:Elderly people are suffering from various health problems due to depression. The study findings demand awareness among family members as well as an establishment of comprehensive one stop health care delivery package for the senior citizens.

Prevalence of geriatric depression in the Kavre district, Nepal: Findings from a cross sectional community survey

“…In the past studies, another cut-off point [4/5] was used for the same screening instrument . The most noticeable finding is that the prevalence of geriatric depression in our study is considerably higher than what has been found in population-based studies from various other Asian countries; 45% in Bangladesh [30] [40], and 17.2% in Vietnam [33]. It is noteworthy that depression among adults (18-65 years) in a recently conducted nationwide study population in Nepal was also found to be higher than the global mean [41].…”

Prevalence of geriatric depression in the Kavre district, Nepal: Findings from a cross sectional community survey

“…In the past studies, another cut-off point [4/5] was used for the same screening instrument [GDS-15]. The most noticeable finding is that the prevalence of geriatric depression in our study is considerably higher than what has been found in population-based studies from various other Asian countries; 45% in Bangladesh [30]; 30.8% in China [31], 33.8% in Indonesia [32], 33.3% in Japan [33], 39.7% in Korea [34], 48.3% in Laos [35], 22.9% in Myanmar [36], 40.6% in Pakistan [29], 27.8% in Sri Lanka [37], 22.2% in Singapore [38], 27.5% in Taiwan [39], 27.5% in Thailand [40], and 17.2% in Vietnam [33]. It is noteworthy that depression among adults (18–65 years) in a recently conducted nationwide study population in Nepal was also found to be higher than the global mean [41].…”

Identifying People with Depression: The role of ‘Self Rated Health’

“…25 Among elderly population, prevalence of mild and moderate depression was found to be 27% and 18% respectively and was also associated with several health ailments. 26 The high prevalence and disability associated with depression, poor awareness and care seeking and low detection rates by health care professionals makes a case to find alternative ways to identify people with depression for appropriate management. Self-rated health (SRH) is a one-item simple question that has been used in several studies for population health monitoring.…”