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Volume 13 Issue 4 (April) 2024

Original Articles

A community based cross sectional study of depression among elderly population in an urban area of Gujarat
Dr. Pravin Parmar, Dr. Jaydip Dhirubhai Vidja, Dr. Ravikumar Rasikbhai Patel

Background: Today depression is one of the commonest causes of disability in the elderly. The various consequences due to depression are reduced life satisfaction and quality of life, social deprivation, loneliness, etc. So it is necessary to know about the magnitude of depression among geriatrics. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Ahmedabad city. Total of 268 elderly participants of more than 60 years were studied. Data was collected on the standardised, pre tested, semi-structured questionnaires by interview. Long form of Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS- 30) was used to identify the depression among elderly. Data were analyzed applying descriptive statistics and chi-square test. Results: Total of 268 elderly participants was studied. Out of which 30.22% were male and 69.78% were female. As per the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS- 30), 19.8% of total participants had severe depression and 42.53% had mild depression. Prevalence of severe and mild depression was observed to be more among low socio-economic class (class V), (30.2% and 38.1% ) elderly with comorbidities (21.6% and 46.3%), widow (20.7% and 48.8%), divorcee (100% and 0%) and elderly doing substance abuse (23.4% and 47.3%) respectively. Conclusion: Depression is common among female elderly persons, lonely individuals, economically weak and substance abusers. Healthcare workers need to be trained to identify depression and take appropriate action.The issue of geriatric depression should be addressed by a national program.

 
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