Cent Eur J Nurs Midw 2014, 5(3):105-111 | DOI: 10.15452/CEJNM.2014.05.0004

Factors affecting the incidence of depression in the elderly

Oľga Kabátová*, Alena Uríčková, Andrea Botíková
Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health and Social Work, Trnava University, Slovakia

Depression belongs to the most severe diseases of the elderly people. Quite often, depression is not diagnosed and treated at the older age. Consequently, it leads to deterioration of the overall physical, psychological and social state of an elderly person.

Aim: The goal of the quantitative research was to roughly estimate the prevalence of depression among persons who live in houses for the elderly or similar institutions and to find the factors which influence the occurrence of depression.

Methods: The sample of the elderly comprised 84 individuals who were intentionally chosen. The quantitative research was based on the use of the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). Other statistical tests were used to evaluate the influence of individual factors on the prevalence of depression among the elderly: Pearson's chi-squared test, Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis test and Spearman's correlation coefficient.

Results: The GDS revealed depression in 28.6% of individuals in the tested sample. The appropriate statistical tests showed increased depression rates among the elderly who were lonely, widowed, suffering from chronic diseases or pain, and those with impaired cognitive thinking.

Conclusion: Depression among individuals living in houses for the elderly or similar institutions is a grave and contemporary problem. The solution of this problem depends on the timely recognition of depression and analysis of factors which influence the prevalence of depression among the elderly.

Keywords: elderly, depression, GDS, nursing, risk factors

Received: May 2, 2014; Accepted: July 8, 2014; Published: September 30, 2014  Show citation

ACS AIP APA ASA Harvard Chicago Chicago Notes IEEE ISO690 MLA NLM Turabian Vancouver
Kabátová O, Uríčková A, Botíková A. Factors affecting the incidence of depression in the elderly. Central European Journal of Nursing and Midwifery. 2014;5(3):105-111. doi: 10.15452/CEJNM.2014.05.0004.
Share...
Download citation
  • BibTeX (.bib)
  • Bookends (.ris)
  • EasyBib (.ris)
  • EndNote (.enw)
  • EndNote 8 (.xml)
  • ISI WoS (.isi)
  • Medlars (.medlars)
  • Mendeley (.ris)
  • MODS (.xml)
  • Papers (.ris)
  • RefWorks (.txt)
  • RefManager (.ris)
  • RIS (.ris)
  • MS Word (.xml)
  • Zotero (.ris)
    • Open full article

    References

    1. Cole MG, Dendukuri N. Risk factors for depression among elderly community subjects: a systematic review and metaanalysis. American Journal of Psychiatry. 2003;160(6):11471156. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    2. Green BH, Copeland JR, Dewey ME, Shamra V, Saunders PA, Davidson IA, Sullivan C, Mc William C. Risk factors for depression in elderly people: A prospective study. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica.1992;86(3):213-217. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    3. Hansson RO, Jones WH, Carpenter BN, Remondet JH. Loneliness and adjustment to old age. International Journal of Human Development.1987;27(1):41-53. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    4. Hegyi L. Niektoré riziká pobytu v domovoch dôchodcov. Geriatria. 2003;2(2):51-59. (in Slovak)
    5. Holmerová I, Vaňková H, Dragomirecká E, Janečková H, Veleta P. Depresivní syndrom u seniorů, významný a dosud nedoceněný problém. Psychiatria pre prax. 2006;7(4):175177. (in Czech)
    6. Husáková M, Rievajová E. Demografické východiská sociálnej politiky v Slovenskej republike. Reprodukce lidského kapitálu: vzájemné vazby a souvislosti, III. ročník: [sborník] z mezinárodní konference konané jako součást dlouhodobého výzkumného projektu 2D06026 Reprodukce lidského kapitálu financovaného MŠMT v rámci Národního programu výzkumu II: Praha 13. - 14. 12. 2010 [cited 2014 March 13]. Praha: Vysoká škola ekonomická v Praze. Nakladatelství Oeconomica, 2010. (in Slovak)
    7. Charney DS, Reynolds CF, Lewis L, Lebowitz BD, Sunderland T, Alexopoulus GS, Blazer DG. Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance. Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance consensus statement on the unmet needs in diagnosis and treatment of mood disorders in late life. Archiver of General Psychiatry. 2003;60(2):664-672. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    8. Jongenelis K, Pot AM, Eisses AM, Beekman AT, Kluiter H, Ribbe MW. Prevalence and risk indicators of depression in elderly nursing home patients: the AGED study. Journal of Affective Disorders. 2004;83(2-3):135-142. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    9. Lebowitz BD, Pearson JL, Schneider LS, Reynolds CF, Alexopoulus GS, Bruce LM. Diagnosis and treatment of depression in late life: consensus statement update. JAMA. 1997; 278:1186-1190. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    10. Martinková J, Lajdová A. Ageizmus - etický problém v starostlivosti o seniorov. Nové trendy vo vzdelávaní a praxi ošetrovateľstva a pôrodnej asistencie. Ružomberok: VERBUM, 2010;160-163. (in Slovak)
    11. Matějovská Kubešová, H. Akutní stavy v geriatrii. Praha: Galén; 2009. (in Czech)
    12. Pokorná A. Komunikace se seniory. Praha: Grada; 2010. (in Czech)
    13. Pokorná A, Komínková A, Schneiderová M, Pinkavová H. Ošetřovatelství v geriatrii. Praha: Grada; 2013. (in Czech)
    14. Praško J, Buliková B, Sigmundová Z. Depresivní porucha a jak ji překonat. Praha: Galén; 2012. (in Czech)
    15. Prince MJ, Harwood RH, Blizard RA, Thomas A, Mann AH. Social support deficits, loneliness and life events as risk factors for depression in old age. The Gospel Oak Project VI. Psychological Medicine. 1997;27(2):323-332. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    16. Raboch J, Laňková J. Deprese. Doporučené postupy pro praktické lékaře. CDP-PL 2008. (in Czech)
    17. Rudačková J. Starnutie populácie a starostlivosť o gerontov z pohľadu štátu, medicíny a Cirkvi. Kresťanské východiská sociálnej práce a jej misijný rozmer: zborník príspevkov z vedeckej konferencie s medzinárodnou účasťou konanej dňa 6.-7. októbra 2008 v Prešove [cited 2014 March 10]. Prešov: Prešovská univerzita v Prešove, 2009;74. Available from: http://www.pulib.sk/elpub2/PBF/Sak3/index.html (in Slovak)
    18. Sheikh JI, Yesavage JA. Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). Recent evidence and development of a shorter version. Clinical Gerontologist: A Guide to Assessment and Intervention. NY: The Haworth Press, Inc.1986;5(1/2):165173. Go to original source...
    19. Tomagová M. Vybrané meracie nástroje v posudzovaní kognitívnych funkcií seniora v ošetrovateľskej starostlivosti. Kontakt. 2009;11(3):310-319. (in Slovak) Go to original source...
    20. Topinková E, Neuwirth J. Depresivní syndrom u geriatrických pacientů v ústavní péči. Česká a slovenská psychiatrie. 1997;93(4):181-188. (in Czech)
    21. Topinková E. Geriatrie pro praxi. 1. vyd. Praha: Galén; 2005. (in Czech) Topinková E. Geriatrie. Praha: Společnost všeobecného lékařství ČLS JEB; 2010. (in Czech)
    22. Vaňo B, Jurčová D, Mészáros J. Prognóza vývoja obyvateľstva SR do roku 2050. Bratislava: Akty; 2002. (in Slovak) Weber P, Bradáčová M, Weberová D, Polcarová, V. Minimum z klinické gerontologie. IPVZ Brno; 2000. (in Czech)
    23. Yan XY, Huang SM, Huang CQ, Wu WH, Qin Y. Marital status and risk for late life depression: a meta-analysis of the published literature. The Journal of International Medical Research. 2012;39(4):1142-1154. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...

    This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0), which permits non-comercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is properly cited. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.


    Return to the content