Prevalence and correlates of depression among Saudi elderly

Abstract

Objectives To assess the prevalence of depression and associated factors in elderly people in Saudi Arabia. Method A cross‐sectional national survey of the elderly population of Saudi Arabia was conducted between January 1994 and December 1995. A stratified two‐stage sampling technique was used to select the study subjects. In the first stage, a random sample of primary health care centres (PHCs) was selected in each of the five administrative regions of the country. The family health records (FHR) of each selected PHC were reviewed and a list of the elderly (60 years and over) was compiled. In the second stage, a sample of the subjects was selected from the FHR and contacted for a personal interview. The subjects' physical, social and environmental health status were assessed by an interview during which a structured questionnaire was completed. The Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) was used to screen for depression. Other items of information in the questionnaire included subjects' sociodemographic characteristics, activities of daily living (ADL), laboratory and radiological investigations. Results The total number of elderly subjects included in this study was 7970. Their mean age±standard deviations was 68.8±7.7 (male 69.1±.7.7; and female 67.7±7.5) years. Depressive symptoms were reported in 3110 (39%) of the subjects, and 8.4% were in the severe depressive symptoms score group. Personal characteristics that correlated strongly with depression were poor education (p=0.001), unemployment (p=0.001), divorced or widowed status (p=0.001), old age and being a female (p=0.001). Living in a remote rural area with poor housing arrangements and limited accessibility within the house and poor interior conditions were also significantly associated with high depressive symptoms (p=0.001). Limited privacy, such as having a particular room specified for the elderly, was associated with more depressive symptoms than sharing a room with another person (p=0.001). Lower incomes inadequate for personal needs as well as depending on charity or other relatives were associated with more cases of depression (p=0.001). The proportion of cases of depression correlated positively with the number of medical diagnoses and medications received (p=0.001). Significant depression was associated with loss of a close relative, living alone and limited participation in recreational activities. Perception of poor health and dependence on others for daily activities were associated with more depressive symptoms (p=0.001). Also health problems, especially faecal or urinary incontinence, were associated with more depressive symptoms (p=0.001). Conclusion Depressive symptoms are common among Saudi elderly. Detection and management rates were low. Primary care teams could help these patients if properly trained. A simple instrument such as the Geriatric Depression Scale is useful and easily administered. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Stroke-free status and depression scores among Saudi dialysis patients

“…Depression correlated with poor education, unemployment (p ¼ 0.001), divorced old age and female sex. 20 These findings are similar to ours, especially if one factors in the study by Al-Shammari and Al-Subaie 20 which reported that perception of poor health and dependence on others for daily activities were associated with more depressive symptoms (p ¼ 0.001). These factors apply to our chronic dialysis patients who have many comorbid conditions and are often dependent on others.…”

“…Nevertheless, a cross-sectional survey carried out in a large number of primary healthcare patients in Saudi Arabia using GDS scale 20 showed that this tool is appropriate in that population with depressive symptoms seen in 39% of the subjects studied of whom 8.4% were in the severe depressive symptoms score group. Depression correlated with poor education, unemployment (p ¼ 0.001), divorced old age and female sex.…”

Patterns of psychiatric diagnoses in inpatient and outpatient psychiatric settings in Saudi Arabia

“…Current available data covers only depression among older adults in the KSA, which ranges from 18% 48 to 39% 49 . The low number of geriatric patients utilizing mental health care services may be attributable to their preference for general practitioners or other non-psychiatric doctors for their multiple and unexplained physical complaints 13,50 ; in addition, many developing countries have observed a lack of specialized mental health services for older people 51 .…”

Validación de un punto de corte para la versión breve de la Escala de Depresión del Centro de Estudios Epidemiológicos en adultos mayores mexicanos

“…34 En términos de la concordancia del punto de corte seleccionado con los criterios de referencia (ICD-10 y DSM-IV), los coeficientes kappa estimados muestran que dicha concordancia no se debió al azar, 35 mientras que para la consistencia interna del CESD-7, el valor estimado del alfa de Cronbach fue también aceptable. 36 Con respecto a la prevalencia estimada de SDCS con este punto de corte (41%), diversos estudios, utilizando instrumentos breves de tamizaje similares, han encontrado prevalencias comparables a las que se reporta en este estudio, [37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44] aunque el rango reportado es más amplio, entre 19 y 66%. Estos datos sugieren que la prevalencia reportada en este estudio sigue una tendencia común dentro de la población de adultos mayores.…”