Prevalence of Depression among Geriatric Population in a Rural Municipality of Nepal: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study.

INTRODUCTION

Depression is a major public health concern among the elderly, affecting their quality of life and overall well-being. Despite the increasing elderly population in Nepal, data on the prevalence of depression in rural areas is limited. Therefore, this study aims to assess the prevalence of depression among the geriatric population.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted among individuals aged 60 years and above in three randomly selected wards of Shivapuri Rural Municipality. Respondents were selected using consecutive sampling. The Nepali version of the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15) was administered through face-to-face interviews. Ethical approval was obtained from the Institutional Review Committee (Reference number 080/81-437). Descriptive analysis was conducted for categorical variables using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS).

RESULTS

The overall prevalence of geriatric depression was 115 (28.75%; 95% CI: 24.36%-33.46%), with a mean depression score of 3.54±3.17. Among those with depression, majority reported mild depression 79 (68.70%) reported mild depression, 79 (31.22%) were male, 88 (30.66%) were under 75 years of age, 46 (35.66%) self-rated their health as not good, 16 (32.66%) had COPD and 33 (30%) were hypertensive elderly.

CONCLUSIONS

About one third of the elderly reported of having depression and more than 50% had mild depression. The depresson was more in age group less than 75 years, male, married and in nuclear family.