Prevalence of Depression in an Elderly Population: A Population-Based Study in Iran

Objective: Depression among elderly in Iran has not been well studied. Little is known about the true rates of depression, it correlates or how well it is treated. This research is part of a series examining health status of older people using the Geriatric depression scale-15 (GDS-15). Methods: One thousand and nine hundred seventy five (1975) older people living in Razavi Khorasan province were studied using the cluster sampling method. The Persian version of GDS-15 was completed based on filling in questionnaires and after recognition of sample size of each city. Admission and data analyzing was followed by examining the relationship between depression and place of living (rural and urban), education, gender, type of living (alone or with family), occupation, source of income, and supporting system (such as charities, etc). Results: The subjects mean (±SD) age was 71.14 (±7.78) years (range: 60-98) and 52.9% of the subjects were female. According GDS score, 23.5% of the subjects suffered from depression. The GDS score was significantly related to type of living (alone or with family), source of income, and supporting system (such as charities) (p 0.01). The depression scores in elderly with family support was significantly higher than those living with personal wealth and retirement salary (p 0.01). Conclusion: Depression may be related to some factors including living alone and to source of income, and supporting system. National programs should be developed in community centers focused on Finding and decreasing depression among the elderly population.