The prevalence of depressive symptoms in an elderly population and their relation to life situations in home care
Journal
Health Science Journal
Date Issued
2013
Abstract
Background: Depression is a common mental
disorder manifested by loss of interest or
pleasure, feelings of guilt or low self-esteem,
disturbed sleep or appetite, low energy and poor
concentration. Depression is a normal part of
aging, but unfortunately it is very common in the
elderly.
Aim: The assessment of the subjective disposition
of the elderly as reflected in the last week.
Design and Methods: The sample consisted of 200
elderly of 4 nursing homes in Heraklion of Crete.
The study was conducted with the quantifydescriptive
method. Depression was quantified
using the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale
(ZSDS). Analysis included the test x2 analysis, the
r-Pearson partial correlation coefficient and the
calculation of Cronbach's alpha (α). The data
analysis was performed using the statistical
programme IBM SPSS 19.0.
Results: Cronbach's alpha for the ZSDS
questionnaire was 0.81. Most of sample were
female (64.5%), aged above 80 years (68.5%), with
low level of education (90.5%). The prevalence of
depressive symptoms was 58.5%. A significant
statistically correlation appears in the elderly with
cardiovascular diseases (P-value = 0,001), already
diagnosed depression (P-value < 0,005), self-care
(P-value = 0,001), living with spouse (P-value =
0,011) indicating greater depressive mood.
Moreover, loss of child increases the degree of
depression (P-value = 0,037).
Conclusions: The life situations of elderly such as
self-care, loss of child, loneliness and chronic
diseases are directly related to appearance of the
daily mood. Moreover, depression is related with
cardiovascular diseases (CVD).
disorder manifested by loss of interest or
pleasure, feelings of guilt or low self-esteem,
disturbed sleep or appetite, low energy and poor
concentration. Depression is a normal part of
aging, but unfortunately it is very common in the
elderly.
Aim: The assessment of the subjective disposition
of the elderly as reflected in the last week.
Design and Methods: The sample consisted of 200
elderly of 4 nursing homes in Heraklion of Crete.
The study was conducted with the quantifydescriptive
method. Depression was quantified
using the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale
(ZSDS). Analysis included the test x2 analysis, the
r-Pearson partial correlation coefficient and the
calculation of Cronbach's alpha (α). The data
analysis was performed using the statistical
programme IBM SPSS 19.0.
Results: Cronbach's alpha for the ZSDS
questionnaire was 0.81. Most of sample were
female (64.5%), aged above 80 years (68.5%), with
low level of education (90.5%). The prevalence of
depressive symptoms was 58.5%. A significant
statistically correlation appears in the elderly with
cardiovascular diseases (P-value = 0,001), already
diagnosed depression (P-value < 0,005), self-care
(P-value = 0,001), living with spouse (P-value =
0,011) indicating greater depressive mood.
Moreover, loss of child increases the degree of
depression (P-value = 0,037).
Conclusions: The life situations of elderly such as
self-care, loss of child, loneliness and chronic
diseases are directly related to appearance of the
daily mood. Moreover, depression is related with
cardiovascular diseases (CVD).
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