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BACKGROUND: Depression among elderly population is a major public health issue affecting nearly 5% to 7% of the world's elderly. In the coming years, a major share will be contributed by developing countries like India. In the rural areas of Allahabad district of Uttar Pradesh, there is scarce data on the depression. METHODOLOGY: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in rural Allahabad. A total of 411 elderly persons were selected from 2 blocks-Jasra and Bahadurpur-through multistage random sampling method. Short form of geriatric depression scale (GDS) was used to assess depression. RESULTS: The prevalence of depression among elderly was 19.7%. On binary logistic regression, depression had significant association with female sex aOR = 2.4, 95% CI 1.1-5.1, having less-than-good relationship with family members aOR = 2.7, 95% CI 1.2-6.0, not being cared for during illness by family members aOR = 3.9, 95% CI 1.2-12.9, not being involved in leisure time activities aOR = 2.5, 95% CI 1.3-4.9, and not regularly meeting relatives and friends aOR = 4.7, 95% CI 1.9-11.6. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of depression in elderly was high in rural areas of Allahabad. Female sex and social and family engagement are the important predictors of depression among them.
Naveen et al. (Wed,) studied this question.