Depression in newly-urbanized elderly Africans

Two recent South African prevalence studies of depressive symptoms have revealed a high occurence of such symptoms among the black elderly population, particularly in the case of women. In a study of depression conducted in the Cape Peninsula townships of Langa and Khayelitsha (N = 195 and 170, respectively), an alarming vulnerability to depressive symptoms was found among black elderly women. with 27% of the women sampled in Langa and 44% of those in Khayelitsha identifying with these symptoms. The Multidimensional Survey (N = 4 400) demonstrated a greater prevalence of depression among elderly blacks than among other elderly population groups. Possible reasons for these findings are discussed.