Investigating the Prevalence and Risk Factors of Depression Disorders in the Elderly: 2019

By identifying the risk factors and the prevalence of depression, more accurate planning can be performed for its early diagnosis, leading to a reduced period of depression, reduced complications, and reduced treatment costs, imposed on the patient and medical system. The present study aimed to Investigating the Prevalence and Risk Factors of Depression Disorders in the Elderly. The present study was descriptive-analytical. The statistical population of the present study consisted of all elderly (44 people) living in a nursing home in Behbahan in the spring of 2019. Data were collected using a standard geriatric depression scale (GDS) and a structured clinical interview conducted by the researcher. Data were analyzed in SPSS22 software and descriptive and inferential statistics. Based on the results, 27.29% of the elderly had low depression and 72.71% had high depression, 38.64% were over 70 years old and 40.90% were male, and 36.40% had a diploma or less. There was a significant relationship between the previous history of chronic disease and the prevalence of depression in the elderly (P <0.05). There was a significant relationship between age, length of stay, family support, marital status, previous history of chronic disease, and prevalence of depression in the elderly (P <0.05). Since geriatric depression is spreading, it is recommended that an adequate budget be allocated to equip and provide nursing homes following the standards. Also, the use of geriatric technologies such as robots and intelligent sensors can monitor the medical care of the elderly well.