Objective:The present study was conducted to determine the prevelance of depressive disorders among the Turkish elderly in an urban community
Materials and Methods:This study was carried out in Kadıköy disctrict of İstanbul,Turkey. The sample for the crosssectional part of the study was determined as 1067 individuals age 70 or older randomely selected from population registries. Geriatric depression scale ( GDS) and mini-mental state examination (MMSE) scores were obtained by face-to-face home interviews.
Results:The study group consisted of 623 (%61.2) females and 395 (38.8%) males. 63.1% of the subjects were aged 70-74 while 29.3% were between 75-84 years old and only 7.6% were of age 85 and above. The mean age was 74.8 years. 163 subjects (16%) of the total group scored 14 or higher on GDS; but only 8.6% of the depressive group was on antidepressive medication. Logistic regression analysis indicated that being illiterate, being between ages 75-79 years old, female sex and having 4 or more children were significant predictors for higher scores for GDS.
Conclusion:: Our results show that depression is a common but undedected and untreated problem among the elderly population in the urban areas of Turkey. Gender and age are inmutable biological conditions, but education and child-birth status can be improved. Education of the caregivers and medical staff on elderly depression may increase the rate of detection in depression and thus improvement with appropriate treatment.
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