Assessment of Stress and Depression among Geriatric Inpatients at a Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital in Rural Area

AIM: Elderly people are at risk of mental health problems. Recognizing these problems is even a greater issue in a rural community where mental health resources may be lacking or inadequate. The purpose of this study was to assess stress and depression levels among patients above 60 years attending a tertiary care teaching hospital in in rural India. METHOD: A cross sectional study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital in rural India. Patients aged 60 years and above seeking help at the various in-patient departments of Medical College and those who agree with written inform consent were included in study. General health questionnaire (GHQ-12) used for assessment of stress. Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-30) was used as screening instruments to detect depression among the elderly. RESULT: A total of 229 elderly participated in the study out of which 138 (60.26%) were males and 91 (39.73%) were females. The mean age of the subjects was 67.68 ± 6.61 years. The prevalence of mild depression was 25.32% and severe depression was 8.7%. There was no significant difference in the prevalence of depression for different gender. Factors like lack of family support, chronic morbidity, lack of economic support, dependence on others for day to day activities and neoplastic conditions were significantly associated with depression. Depression according to marital status was found to be significantly higher in the elderly who were widowed. CONCLUSION: Physical morbidity, lack of family support, lack of economic support, dependence on others for day to day activities and neoplastic conditions seem to be associated with increased depressive symptoms in elderly population over 60 years of age