Adding life to years: Role of gender and social and family engagement in geriatric depression in rural areas of Northern India

• Main Authors: Kikkeri Hanumantha Setty Naveen, Akhil Dhanesh Goel, Shraddha Dwivedi, Mohd Amirul Hassan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2020-01-01
• Series: Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care
• Subjects: depression; elderly; family relations; morbidity; social support
• Online Access: http://www.jfmpc.com/article.asp?issn=2249-4863;year=2020;volume=9;issue=2;spage=721;epage=728;aulast=Naveen

Background: Depression among elderly population is a major public health issue affecting nearly 5% to 7% of the world's elderly. In the coming years, a major share will be contributed by developing countries like India. In the rural areas of Allahabad district of Uttar Pradesh, there is scarce data on the depression. Methodology: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in rural Allahabad. A total of 411 elderly persons were selected from 2 blocks—Jasra and Bahadurpur—through multistage random sampling method. Short form of geriatric depression scale (GDS) was used to assess depression. Results: The prevalence of depression among elderly was 19.7%. On binary logistic regression, depression had significant association with female sex [aOR = 2.4, 95% CI 1.1–5.1], having less-than-good relationship with family members [aOR = 2.7, 95% CI 1.2–6.0], not being cared for during illness by family members [aOR = 3.9, 95% CI 1.2-12.9], not being involved in leisure time activities [aOR = 2.5, 95% CI 1.3–4.9], and not regularly meeting relatives and friends [aOR = 4.7, 95% CI 1.9–11.6]. Conclusions: The prevalence of depression in elderly was high in rural areas of Allahabad. Female sex and social and family engagement are the important predictors of depression among them.