Journal of AdvancedMedical and Dental Sciences Research

Background: Depression is a common mental health disorder in late-life and an important public health problem because of its devastating consequences at any given time in a community. Aim of the study: To study Prevalence of Depression among Elderly in a Rural Population. Materials and methods: The present study was conducted in the Department of Community Medicine of the Medical institution. The study was conducted for the period of 12 months. A total population of 200 elderly individuals were considered as study population. An informed consent was obtained from the study subjects who were participated in the study. A validated geriatric depression scale was used to assess their depression status and the various demographic details, socio economic status and living arrangements were analyzed to see for any association with depression. Results: We observed that 90 subjects were in the age group of 60-65 years, 50 were in age group 66-70 years and 60 were in age group >70 years. There were 92 males and 108 females in our study population. It was observed that the prevalence of depression in female elderly subjects was higher as compared to male subjects. With respect to age group, highest prevalence of depression was seen in age groups 66-70 years and >70 years. Conclusion: Within the limitations of the present study, it can be concluded that the prevalence of depression is high in elderly population. The prevalence of depression is higher in elderly females as compared to males and it increases with advancing age. Keywords: Depression, prevalence of depression, elderly population, geriatric population.