Geriatric Depression: Prevalence and Associated Factors in a Rural Community of Bengaluru

Background: Depression in elderly population is a serious public health concern leading to multitude of sociocultural, economic, and health problems. In Indian context, epidemiological studies on depression in elderly population from rural areas by using valid Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15) remain scant. Hence, the present research was undertaken to find out the prevalence of geriatric depression and its associated factors in a rural community of Bengaluru. Materials and Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted with a sample size of 1000 elderly subjects using cluster sampling technique. After getting informed consent, information was collected regarding sociodemographic characteristics, personal habits, comorbidities, self-perceived health (SPH) status, adverse life events, and depression were assessed using validated GDS-15 Kannada version. Results: The prevalence of depression among the elderly was 38.1% and education ( P = 0.002 ) , sleep ( P < 0.01), SPH status ( P < 0.01), and adverse life events (<0.01) were found to be significantly associated with depression. Conclusions: The prevalence of depression among rural elderly was high. Female sex, illiteracy, absence of occupation, marital status-single, living alone, financial dependence, presence of social assistance, lack of property, altered appetite, disturbed sleep, presence of substance use, poor or average SPH status and occurrence of adverse life events in past 1 year were found to have a significant association with presence of depression. Key words: Depression, Elderly, Prevalence, Rural community, Geriatric depression scale