Prevalence and correlates of depressive symptoms in older people in the West Bank, Palestine: cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Depressive disorders in elderly people can affect their cognitive and physical abilities and nutritional status. AIMS: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of depressive disorders in older Palestinians and its relationship with nutritional, functional and cognitive status. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among Palestinians > 60 years living in Hebron, West Bank from September 2017 to March 2018. An interview-based questionnaire was used to obtain information on sociodemographic characteristics, nutritional habits, anthropometric measurements, cognitive function (using the Montreal cognitive assessment tool), and functional status (using activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living scales). The presence of depressive symptoms was determined using the geriatric depression scale: a score ≥ 5 indicated depressive symptoms. RESULTS: A total of 291 participants were included in the study. Mean age was 70.4 (SD 7.0) years, range 60-100. The prevalence of depressive symptoms was 51.9%. Depression was significantly associated with marital status (being single), low educational and income level, unemployment, and inability to write and make calculations. The presence of depressive disorders was also significantly associated with lower scores on the instrumental activities of daily living scale and the Montreal cognitive assessment tool, and with hypercholesterolaemia, chewing and swallowing difficulties and lack of appetite. CONCLUSION: A considerable percentage of older Palestinian adults had depressive symptoms. There is a need to screen and treat depressive symptoms among older Palestinian adults to prevent their progression to severe mental health problems.