Association Between Depressive Symptoms, Chronic Diseases, Obesity and Quality of Life in the Elderly Population: A Cross-Sectional Study

Older adults aged 60 years and over are increasingly affected by depressive symptoms, which may be associated with chronic diseases, obesity, and quality of life. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of depressive symptoms among older adults and investigate their associations with chronic diseases, obesity, and quality of life. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 237 older adults recruited through voluntary sampling. Data were collected using structured interviews, the Depression Scale, and World Health Organization Quality of Life questionnaire. Among the participants, 191 underwent capillary blood glucose, total cholesterol, and triglyceride testing, anthropometric assessment, and blood pressure measurement. Associations were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, with chi-square or Fisher’s exact tests, as appropriate, at a 5% significance level. Self-reported depression was present in 22.1% of participants, whereas 52.4% screened positive for depressive symptoms. Self-reported diabetes was present in 20.4%, while 41.9% were overweight, 22.0% had obesity, 63.6% had abdominal obesity, and 45.7% had metabolic syndrome. Depressive symptoms were not significantly associated with diabetes (p=0.199) or metabolic syndrome (p=0.387). Significant associations were observed with obesity (p=0.009), abdominal obesity (p=0.013), chronic diseases (p=0.004), self-rated health (p=0.002), and the physical (p=0.016) and environmental (p=0.017) domains of quality of life. Depressive symptoms were highly prevalent and associated with chronic diseases, obesity, abdominal obesity, and selected quality-of-life domains. Given the cross-sectional design, causal relationships cannot be established.