Assessment of Geriatric Depression through GDS-SF Scale in Residents of Old Age Homes of Lahore, Pakistan

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this research was to find out the prevalence of depression and associated factors among geriatric population living in elderly homes in Lahore Pakistan.
Methods: An analytical cross-sectional study was carried out from 1st March - 30th August 2019 among residents of five different old age care homes in Lahore. A sample of 133 inhabitants, both males and females were included using non-probability, purposive sampling technique. After getting IRB approval and informed consent from the participants, data was collected via pre-designed questionnaire using Geriatric Depression Scale through interview technique. Data was analyzed via SPSS version 22 and was presented in form of frequency tables. Chi-square test was applied and p-value was fixed at ≤ 0.05 to declare results significant.
Results: The mean age of inhabitants was 70.36 years ± 8.61. Majority of them, 70 (52.6%), were males and 48 (33.83%) were widowed. Of the studied, 47 (35.3%) inhabitants were diabetic and 40 (30.0%) were hypertensive. Based upon GDS-SF scoring almost 1/3rd i.e 50 (37.6%) participants were categorized to had mild depression while 19 (14.7%) and 18 (13.5 %) had moderate depression and severe depression respectively. Significant difference was observed in memory loss among female participants (p= 0.001).
Conclusion: Depression was common among residents of old age care homes, where 65.71% of the male residents and 65.07% of the females were depressed. The major themes related to cause of depression were dissatisfaction with life, staying indoor and memory problems.

How to cite: Manzoor I., Zafar T., Liaqat A.ul N., Rameen., Anwar S. Assessment of geriatric depression through GDS- SF scale in residents of old age homes of Lahore, Pakistan. Esculapio 2021;17(02):