Department of Health Care Policy, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan.
Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka.
Geriatr Gerontol Int. 2017 Dec;17(12):2414-2420. doi: 10.1111/ggi.13090. Epub 2017 Aug 4.
To ascertain if the factors associated with depression differ among ethnic groups in community-dwelling older people in Kandy District, Sri Lanka.
A cross-sectional survey was carried out of people aged ≥60 years living in a single divisional secretariat of Kandy District. The participants were asked about ethnicity (Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim), sociodemographic characteristics and depression status by face-to-face interviews with a structured questionnaire. Depression was measured by the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale, and the total score of ≥6 was considered as depression. The χ -test and multivariate logistic regression with two-way interaction terms between sociodemographic characteristics and ethnicity were carried out.
Participants (n = 778) consisted of 56.6% Sinhalese, 22.1% Tamils and 21.3% Muslims. Of the participants, the prevalence of depression was 31.8% (27.3% in Sinhalese, 42.1% in Tamils and 32.9% in Muslims). Multivariate analyses showed that there were no significant interactions between sociodemographic characteristics and ethnicity. However, low economic status, low perceived social support and more than two self-reported diseases were significantly associated with depression in all ethnic groups.
Some factors were found to be significantly associated with depression, but did not differ among ethnic groups. The findings would help practitioners to identify older people with a high risk of depression, and to intervene in its development or exacerbation. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2017; 17: 2414-2420.
在斯里兰卡康堤区的社区居住的老年人中，确定与不同种族相关的抑郁因素是否存在差异。
对居住在康堤区单一分区秘书处的年龄≥60 岁的人群进行了横断面调查。通过面对面的结构化问卷访谈，询问参与者的种族（僧伽罗人、泰米尔人和穆斯林）、社会人口统计学特征和抑郁状况。使用 15 项老年抑郁量表测量抑郁，总分≥6 分被认为是抑郁。进行 χ 2 检验和多变量逻辑回归，其中社会人口统计学特征和种族之间存在双向交互项。
参与者（n=778）中，56.6%为僧伽罗人，22.1%为泰米尔人，21.3%为穆斯林。参与者中，抑郁的患病率为 31.8%（僧伽罗人为 27.3%，泰米尔人为 42.1%，穆斯林人为 32.9%）。多变量分析显示，社会人口统计学特征和种族之间没有显著的交互作用。然而，经济地位低、感知社会支持低和自我报告的疾病超过两种与所有种族的抑郁显著相关。
一些因素与抑郁显著相关，但在不同种族之间没有差异。这些发现将有助于临床医生识别出患有高抑郁风险的老年人，并对其进行干预以预防或缓解抑郁。老年医学与老年病学国际 2017；17:2414-2420。
