Is Life Expectancy Associated with Depression in the Elderly?

Introduction: Depression is one of the most common psychiatric disorders and risk factors for suicide in aging that often underdiagnosed and those who are more hopeful, suffer from less depression. The present study was conducted to determine the relationship between life expectancy and depression among older people in Yazd, Iran.   Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 250 community-dwelling elderlies over 60 years of age, Yazd city. Eligible older people were selected using cluster sampling method. The data collection instrument included geriatric depression scale and The adult hope scale. Data analysis was carried out using descriptive frequency distribution, independent t-test, ANOVA and Pearson correlation.   Results: The mean score of depression and life expectancy in the elderly was 6.77 ± 3.17 and 39.52 ± 6.27, respectively. There was a significant negative correlation between life expectancy and depression (r = -0.594 and p = 0.005), and a significant positive correlation between age and depression (r = 0.258 and p = 0.005).   Conclusion: Considering that the depression score in the elderly was at a moderate level, and also considering that with decreasing life expectancy, depression increased in the elderly, psychological interventions focusing on preventing and reducing depression, and increasing the life expectancy, are recommended

Investigation of Factors Related to Stillbirth

The stillbirth rate is among the most important indicators of access to and quality of care during pregnancy. This study investigated the factors related to the stillbirth rate in the Yazd province, Iran. The current research is descriptive and cross-sectional and the results of Shahdieh city cohort study which was conducted on 4756 women were used. Data related to the history of stillbirth, demographic characteristics, fertility history and, various female diseases were extracted from the results of the cohort study. The result shows that 7.2% of studied women had a history of stillbirth. Among the multiple variables, predictor variables including education level, marriage age, age of the first conception, number of children, consanguineous marriage, Employment status, and diseases like diabetes, hypertension, and history of depression had a significant relationship with a history of stillbirth ( P  ≤ .05). The stillbirth rate in Shahedieh is high compared to the global stillbirth Rate, but it is comparable with the stillbirth Rate in Yazd province. Although Yazd province, as one of the industrial hubs of Iran, has relatively acceptable indicators of income, employment, and medical and health facilities and welfare compared to other provinces, this study showed that factors such as diabetes, hypertension, low level of women’s education, consanguineous marriage, and women’s employment status and social welfare can affect Stillbirth Rate