Prevalence and risk factors of depression among elderly people in nursing homes from 2012 to 2022: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES

To determine a pooled prevalence of depression and its influencing factors among nursing home residents.

METHOD

PsycINFO, PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science were searched for studies investigating the prevalence and risk factors of late-life depression among nursing home residents between January 2012 and November 2022. Two reviewers independently completed the literature screening, data extraction and quality assessment. A random-effects model was utilized to pool the prevalence of depression and summarize the influencing factors.

RESULTS

This meta-analysis included 48 studies involving 28,501 participants. The pooled prevalence of depressive mood and major depressive disorder was 53% and 27%, respectively. The rate of depressive mood is higher in lower-middle-income countries (60.0%), compared with high- (53.0%) and upper-middle-income countries (44.0%). The rate of depressive mood (35.0%) is higher among females than male (19.0%). Depression was influenced by factors, including male ( = 0.28), insufficient income ( = 3.53), comorbidities ( = 2.66), pain ( = 2.67;  = 0.31), functional disability ( = 0.33), loneliness ( = 0.43), number of chronic health problems ( = 0.18), social support ( = -0.28), activities of daily living ( = -0.43), subjective health ( = -0.28), autonomy ( = -0.41), environment ( = -0.50) and physical ( = -0.57) and psychological health ( = -0.65).

CONCLUSION

The prevalence of depressive mood is high among nursing home residents, especially in lower-middle-income countries. It is influenced by factors including gender, income, social support, daily activities, environment, physical and psychological health and autonomy. Understanding those factors can provide evidence-based recommendations for improved awareness, prevention and better management of late-life depression.