Psychometric Evaluation of Depression in the Elderly

Introduction: The number of elderly population is increasing worldwide. The World Health Organization highlighted that ageing process and problems related to elderly should be better understood so that effective elderly health-prevention can be planned and implemented. However, there are very limited studies in Nepal on depression in ageing population. The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence and severity of depression using the Geriatric Depression Scale. Method: This was a observation survey to study the prevalence and severity of depression among elderly people of Nepal visiting the geriatric clinic in a tertiary centre of Nepal. During the one year study period, 370 elderly patients above seventy years of age were recruited. Result: Total population surveyed comprised of 370 elderly, 58.9% men. The mean age for the population was 77.31 ± 5.47. Half of the population surveyed had depression score 5 or more suggesting the prevalence to be 50%. The study also found a slightly higher prevalence of depression in females. ‘Conclusion: This preliminary study in the tertiary hospital-based geriatric clinic area revealed many knowledge gaps. The study found that half of the surveyed population had depression. Therefore, a larger survey is needed especially in the urban areas to initiate the effective preventive programs. Keywords: Depression; Geriatric assessment; Nepal