Depression among Elderly of Chhayanath Rara Municipality, Mugu, Nepal: An Observational Study.

INTRODUCTION

Depression is an important public health issue responsible for considerable morbidity and mortality among elderly. There were very few studies related with depression among elderly from rural community of Nepal. The objectives were to assess depression among elderly in Chhayanath Rara municipality.

METHODS

An observational cross-section study was conducted among 387 elderly through face-to-face interviews by using Geriatric Depression Scale-short scale (GSD 15) in a municipality of Nepal. Ethical Approval was taken from Institutional Review Committee (Reference Number: 079/80-015 ). Data were entered and analyzed into SPSS version 20. Descriptive statistics was employed to assess the prevalence of elderly depression.

RESULTS

The prevalence of depression among elderly was found to be 282 (72.87%; 95% CI: 68.44%-77.30%). Of those, 124 (32.04%) experienced mild depression, 115 (29.72%) had moderate depression, and 43 (11.11%) suffered from severe depression.

CONCLUSIONS

The prevalence of depression in elderly was found higher compared to previous studies and other population.