Salimah O, Rahmah M A, Rosdinom R, Azhar S Shamsul
Family Health Development Division, Ministry of Health, Putrajaya, Malaysia.
Med J Malaysia. 2008 Dec;63(5):395-400.
Depressive illness is common among the aged population. A case control study was conducted, focusing on risk factors influencing depression among the elderly. This study involved 130 elderly patients diagnosed to have depressive illness from the psychiatric clinics of Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL) and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Hospital (HUKM). Another group of 130 elderly patients with no history of depressive illness were recruited from the medical specialist clinics. The majority of cases were female (75.4%), aged 60-74 years (92.3%) and from Chinese ethnic group (59.2%). Non-Malay elderly has three times risk (AOR 2.537, 95% CI 1.439-4.471) of suffering the depressive illness compared to the Malay elderly, the elderly with chronic health problems are more likely to be depressed compared to those who do not suffer from any chronic illness (p trend <0.001). Other risk factors identified were family history of depression with four times risk (AOR 4.225, 95% CI 2.017-8.848) and lower social support with eight times risk (AOR 7.949, 95% CI 2.588-24.417). Social support is not only important in encouraging the elderly to practice healthy life style but proven to influence the risk of getting depression among them. Hence, it is very crucial that the elderly is given total attention, respect and love from all parties to ensure prosperity and meaningfulness in life.
抑郁症在老年人群中很常见。开展了一项病例对照研究，重点关注影响老年人抑郁症的风险因素。该研究纳入了130名在吉隆坡医院（HKL）和马来西亚国民大学医院（HUKM）精神科门诊被诊断患有抑郁症的老年患者。另一组130名无抑郁症病史的老年患者则从医学专科门诊招募。大多数病例为女性（75.4%），年龄在60 - 74岁（92.3%），来自华裔群体（59.2%）。与马来老年患者相比，非马来老年患者患抑郁症的风险是其三倍（比值比2.537，95%置信区间1.439 - 4.471），与没有任何慢性病的老年人相比，患有慢性健康问题的老年人更易患抑郁症（p趋势<0.001）。其他确定的风险因素包括有抑郁症家族史，风险为四倍（比值比4.225，95%置信区间2.017 - 8.848）以及社会支持较低，风险为八倍（比值比7.949，95%置信区间2.588 - 24.417）。社会支持不仅在鼓励老年人养成健康生活方式方面很重要，而且已证明会影响他们患抑郁症的风险。因此，各方给予老年人充分的关注、尊重和关爱以确保其生活富足且有意义至关重要。
