Prevalence of depression, and its associated factors among the elderly in Songkhla Province, Thailand: Two-stage cluster sampling study

BACKGROUND: Depression in elderly usually goes unnoticed in the general population. The aim of this research is to study on the prevalence, and associated factors of elderly depression within Songkhla province. This being a major city with a population of one and a half million, situated in the south of Thailand. METHODS: This is a two-stage cluster sampling study. We collected data from members of the elderly population (65-99 years of age) in Songkhla Province from 1st of September – 30th of November 2015. The sample size was calculated by R-program. We used the 15-item Thai Geriatric Depression Scale (TGDS-15) questionnaire to find the prevalence and its association of factors. The associated factors were analyzed by multiple logistic regression using a backward-stepwise method. RESULTS: By using TGDS-15, the prevalence of depression in the elderly population in Songkhla province was 12.0 percent. The association of depression as well as potential, associated factors in this study; sex, age, and residential area, were not found to be significant. We found more prevalence among Muslims, those being alone, and having a lower educational level within this area (p-value < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of depression was quite high among the elderly population of Songkhla province. Many statically, both significant and insignificant, correlations were found. We need an in-depth research, concerning both biological and spiritual aspects to explain the etiology of depression. Then, some policies need to be implemented to intervene those factors, so as to promote better health and quality of life in elderly people

Sleep Quality Among Elderly People Within the Outpatient Department of Songklanagarind Hospital, Thailand: A Cross-Sectional Study

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of sleep quality in the elderly within our outpatient department. MATERIAL AND METHOD: A cross-sectional study was conducted by; calculating the sample size for a survey with ‘proportion to size’ at the outpatient department of Songklanagarind Hospital from; October to November, 2015. A total of 408 participants aged between 65 and 99 were interviewed. Demographic and sleep-related data were collected. Sleep quality was assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) – Thai version. The results were analyzed in terms of descriptive statistics and conducted using R-Epicalc and R-Survey software. RESULTS: Our subjects were predominantly married females. The proportion of those in the 65-74 age range was 63.0%. Most of the participants (70.8%) were poor sleepers, with mean and median PSQI scores of 7.7 and 7.0, respectively. Regarding poor sleepers, their problems were; short sleep duration (99.7%), poor sleep efficiency (61.6%) and day time dysfunction (51.6%). CONCLUSION: Similarly to previous studies, our findings showed a high prevalence of poor sleep quality in the elderly population. A sleep duration of less than 6 hours was the major problem in the poor sleeper group. Gaining a better insight into sleep quality correlating with comorbidities is recommended

Depression and Associated Factors among Elderly Outpatients in Songklanagarind Hospital, Thailand: A Cross-Sectional Study

OBJECTIVE: Elderly patients with their deteriorating global health are becoming more vulnerable to mental disorders, especially depression. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence and associated factors of depression amongst patients attending outpatient clinics in Songklanagarind Hospital, a tertiary care center in southern Thailand. MATERIAL AND METHOD: This is a cross-sectional descriptive study. Elderly people (65-99 years of age) attending the outpatient department of Songklanagarind Hospital during 1st of September-30th of November 2015 were included in the study. The sample size was calculated using Epicalc in R program. We used the 15-item Thai Geriatric Depression Scale (TGDS-15) questionnaire to find the prevalence of depression among this group. Associated factors of depression were identified by multiple logistic regression using a backward-stepwise method. RESULTS: The total number of participants in this study was 408. The prevalence of depression based on the TGDS-15, cut-off score of >5, among elderly outpatients in Songklanagarind Hospital was 9.6%. However, regarding multiple regression analysis, no statistically significant factors; sex, age, marital status, educational level, and religion, could be found to be associated with depression. CONCLUSION: Almost one-tenth of the elderly patients visiting the outpatient clinics within Songklanagarind Hospital had depression. This prevalence was quite high. The depression would worsen their health conditions. Good, rigorous screening coupled with a referral system should be encouraged and then implemented in this hospital

The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS): translation and validation study of the Iranian version

BACKGROUND: The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) is a widely used instrument to measure postnatal depression. This study aimed to translate and to test the reliability and validity of the EPDS in Iran. METHODS: The English language version of the EPDS was translated into Persian (Iranian language) and was used in this study. The questionnaire was administered to a consecutive sample of 100 women with normal (n = 50) and caesarean section (n = 50) deliveries at two points in time: 6 to 8 weeks and 12 to 14 weeks after delivery. Statistical analysis was performed to test the reliability and validity of the EPDS. RESULTS: Overall 22% of women at time 1 and 18% at time 2 reported experiencing postpartum depression. In general, the Iranian version of the EPDS was found to be acceptable to almost all women. Cronbach's alpha coefficient (to test reliability) was found to be 0.77 at time 1 and 0.86 at time 2. In addition, test-rest reliability was performed and the intraclass correlation coefficient was found to be 0.80. Validity as performed using known groups comparison showed satisfactory results. The questionnaire discriminated well between sub-groups of women differing in mode of delivery in the expected direction. The factor analysis indicated a three-factor structure that jointly accounted for 58% of the variance. CONCLUSION: This preliminary validation study of the Iranian version of the EPDS proved that it is an acceptable, reliable and valid measure of postnatal depression. It seems that the EPDS not only measures postpartum depression but also may be measuring something more

Validating the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale as a screening tool for postpartum depression in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Background: Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) is considered well accepted screening tool for postpartum depression (PPD). The objective of the study was to validate the EPDS as a screening tool for postpartum depression in Kathmandu, Nepal. Methods: A hospital based cross sectional study using EPDS was conducted among 346 mothers between 4 and 14 weeks of postpartum period. All the participants were examined by psychiatrist for possible clinical PPD diagnosis using International Classification of Disease tenth revision (ICD-10). Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value were calculated for validation of EPDS. The best cut off point for Nepalese version of EPDS was identified and area of the receiver operating characteristics curve was calculated. Results: The overall prevalence of PPD was 17.1 %.The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of the Nepalese version EPDS was found to be 92, 95.6, 77 and 99.3 % respectively. The best cut-off point of EPDS for screening of PPD was found to be 12/13 and the area of the curve was 0.98 (95 % CI 0.970–0.994, p = 0.001). Conclusions: The prevalence of PPD is not that far from the previous studies of Nepal. Nepali version of EPDS was acceptable and the study demonstrates good validity, thus EPDS can be used as valid screening tool for PPD for early detection, prompt treatment and to prevent possible consequences