| Peer-Reviewed

Factors Associated with Elderly Depression among Rural Bangladeshi Individuals

Received: 3 December 2013    Accepted:     Published: 20 January 2014
Views:       Downloads:
Abstract

Background: Depression is a chronic disorder, which often remains undiagnosed. There is a gross lack of evidence-based information about depressive illnesses among adult individuals from rural Bangladesh. Objective: The present study aimed to determine the factors that are associated with depressive illness but remain undiagnosed among rural healthy adult individuals. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the Demographic Surveillance System area of rural Mirzapur sub-district, during April to September 2010. A total of 130 apparently healthy individuals [no history of hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, hepatic (serum alanine transaminase; ALT) or renal (serum creatinine) dysfunction; diabetic mellitus (fasting blood sugar)] aged 40 years and above were randomly selected from the DSS database. Level of depression was assessed using 30-item Geriatric Depression Scale. Results: Forty-two percent of the healthy participants were found to have mild depression, 17% were severely depressed. In multivariate analysis, females had a 2.79 [95% CI-0.94-8.26] times higher risk for depression compared to males. Healthy elderly individuals (≥60 years) had a 2.79 [0.94-8.33] times higher risk for depression compared to their middle-aged counterparts (40-59 years). Furthermore, individuals who consumed a vegetable-based diet were at 2.47 [0.85-7.15] times higher risk for depression; individuals with low monthly income were at 2.57 [0.94-7.01] times higher, and those with poor wealth index were 1.55 [1.07-2.25] times more likely to suffer from depression compared to their counterparts after adjusting for vitamin B12, folic acid, ALT, and blood hemoglobin. Conclusion: Healthy elderly individuals from rural Bangladesh were more depressed than middle-aged adults; and females with poor socio-economic status were at higher risk for depression than males.

Published in American Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience (Volume 2, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajpn.20140201.11
Page(s) 1-7
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Bangladesh, Depression, Elderly, Healthy, Rural

References
[1] Sharp LK, Lipsky MS: Screening for depression across the lifespan: a review of measures for use in primary care settings. Am Fam Physician 2002, 66:1001-8.
[2] Baiyewu O, Smith-Gamble V, Lane KA, Gureje O, Gao S, Ogunniyi A, Unverzagt FW, Hall KS, Hendrie HC: Prevalence estimates of depression in elderly community-dwelling African Americans in Indianapolis and Yoruba in Ibadan, Nigeria. Int Psychogeriatr 2007, 19:679-89.
[3] Vishal J, Bansal RK, Swati P, Bimal T: A study of depression among aged in Surat city. National Journal of Community Medicine 2010, 1.
[4] Wang JK, Su TP, Chou P: Sex differences in prevalence and risk indicators of geriatric depression: the Shih-Pai community-based survey. J Formos Med Assoc 2010, 109:345-53.
[5] Wasylenki D: Depression in the elderly. Can Med Assoc J 1980, 122: 525-32, 40.
[6] Alexopoulos SG: Depression in the elderly. The Lancet 2005, 365:1961-70.
[7] Demura S, Sato S: Relationships between depression, lifestyle and quality of life in the community dwelling elderly: a comparison between gender and age groups. J Physiol Anthropol Appl Human Sci 2003, 22:159-66.
[8] Levkoff ES, Macarthur WL, Bucknall J: Elderly mental health in the developing world. Social science and Medicine 1995, 41: 983–1003.
[9] Ibrahim N, Din NC, Ahmad M, Ghazali SE, Said Z, Shahar S, Ghazali AR, Razali R: Relationships between social support and depression, and quality of life of the elderly in a rural community in Malaysia. Asia Pac Psychiatry 2013, 5 Suppl 1:59-66.
[10] Taqui AM, Itrat A, Qidwai W, Qadri Z: Depression in the elderly: does family system play a role? A cross-sectional study. BMC Psychiatry 2007, 7:57.
[11] Biswas P, Kabir ZN, Nilsson J, Zaman S: Dynamics of Health Care Seeking Behaviour of Elderly People in Rural Bangladesh. International Journal of Ageing and Later Life 2006, 1:69-89.
[12] Russell DW, Cutrona CE: Social support, stress, and depressive symptoms among the elderly: test of a process model. Psychol Aging 1991, 6:190-201.
[13] Oxman TE, Berkman LF, Kasl S, Jr DF, Barrett J: Social Support and Depressive Symptoms in the Elderly. American Journal of Epidemiology 1991, 135:356-68.
[14] Melanson KJ: Relationships of Nutrition With Depression and Anxiety. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine 2007, 1:171-4.
[15] D'Anci KE, Rosenberg IH: Folate and brain function in the elderly. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care 2004, 7:659-64.
[16] Reynolds EH: Folic acid, ageing, depression, and dementia. BMJ 2002, 324:1512-5.
[17] Nguyen PH, Grajeda R, Melgar P, Marcinkevage J, DiGirolamo AM, Flores R, Martorell R: Micronutrient supplementation may reduce symptoms of depression in Guatemalan women. Arch Latinoam Nutr 2009, 59:278-86.
[18] Nasrin N, Asaduzzaman M, Imam A-HKM, Mowla R, Rizwan F, Monjur F: Common geriatric disorders and their management in selected hospitas of Bangladesh. International Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences Review and Research 2012, 13.
[19] Das SK, Faruque ASG, Ahmed S, Mamun AA, Raqib R, Roy AK, Chisti MJ, Ahmed T, Salam MA: Nutritional and Micronutrient Status of Elderly People Living in a Rural Community of Bangladesh. Journal of Gerontology & Geriatric 2012, 1:107.
[20] Yesavage JA, Brink TL, Rose TL, Lum O, Huang V, Adey M, Leirer VO: Development and validation of a geriatric depression screening scale: a preliminary report. J Psychiatr Res 1982, 17:37-49.
[21] Koehler M, Rabinowitz T, Hirdes J, Stones M, Carpenter GI, Fries BE, Morris JN, Jones RN: Measuring depression in nursing home residents with the MDS and GDS: an observational psychometric study. BMC Geriatr 2005, 5:1.
[22] Ganguly M, Dube S, Johnston Jm, Pandav R, Chandra V, Dodge HH: Depressive symptoms, cognitive impairement and functional impairement in a rural elderly population in India. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry 1999, 14:807-20.
[23] Farzana FD, Ahmed S, Ferdous F, Vanderlee L, Khan HS, Roy KA, Chisti JM, Faruque ASG, Das SK: Biochemical and dietary indicators among vegetarians and non-vegetarians: findings from a cross sectional study in rural Bangladesh. International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences 2013, 2:130-6.
[24] Das SK, Faruque ASG, Chisti MJ, Ahmed S, Abdullah AM, Chowdhury AK, Ahmed T, Salam AM: Nutrition and Lipid Profile in General Population and Vegetarian Individuals Living in Rural Bangladesh. Journal of Obesity & Weight Loss 2012, 2:123.
[25] Budtz-Jorgensen E, Keiding N, Grandjean P, Weihe P: Confounder selection in environmental epidemiology: assessment of health effects of prenatal mercury exposure. Ann Epidemiol 2007, 17:27-35.
[26] Maldonado G, Greenland S: Simulation study of confounder-selection strategies. Am J Epidemiol 1993, 138:923- 36.
[27] Karel MJ: Aging and depression: vulnerability and stress across adulthood. Clin Psychol Rev 1997, 17:847-79.
[28] Agarwalab B: Social security and the family: Coping with seasonality and calamity in rural India. The Journal of Peasant Studies 2008, 17:341-412.
[29] Habib F, Roomi KA, Al-Haddad MK: Risk factors associated with depression among Bahraini elderly in a primary healthcare setting. Journal of the Bahrain Medical Society 2013, 24.
[30] Hossain RM: Demography of Aging and related problems in Bangladesh. The social Sciences 2006, 1:154-7.
[31] Nasreen HE, Kabir ZN, Forsell Y, Edhborg M: Prevalence and associated factors of depressive and anxiety symptoms during pregnancy: a population based study in rural Bangladesh. BMC Womens Health 2011, 11:22.
[32] Tareque MI, Begum S: Gender difference in disability free life expectancy at old ages in Bangladesh. Journal of Aging Health 2013.
[33] Barcelos-Ferreira R, Yoshio Nakano E, Steffens DC, Bottino CM: Quality of life and physical activity associated to lower prevalence of depression in community-dwelling elderly subjects from Sao Paulo. J Affect Disord 2013, 150:616-22.
[34] Vermeulen A: Environment, human reproduction, menopause, and andropause. Environ Health Perspect 1993, 101 Suppl 2:91-100.
[35] Bloom DE, Williamson JG: Demographic Transitions and Economic Miracles in Emerging Asia. The World Bank Economic Review 2013, 12:419-55.
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Jui Das, Fahmida Dil Farzana, Farzana Ferdous, Shahnawaz Ahmed, Sarah Tegenfeldt, et al. (2014). Factors Associated with Elderly Depression among Rural Bangladeshi Individuals. American Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, 2(1), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajpn.20140201.11

    Copy | Download

    ACS Style

    Jui Das; Fahmida Dil Farzana; Farzana Ferdous; Shahnawaz Ahmed; Sarah Tegenfeldt, et al. Factors Associated with Elderly Depression among Rural Bangladeshi Individuals. Am. J. Psychiatry Neurosci. 2014, 2(1), 1-7. doi: 10.11648/j.ajpn.20140201.11

    Copy | Download

    AMA Style

    Jui Das, Fahmida Dil Farzana, Farzana Ferdous, Shahnawaz Ahmed, Sarah Tegenfeldt, et al. Factors Associated with Elderly Depression among Rural Bangladeshi Individuals. Am J Psychiatry Neurosci. 2014;2(1):1-7. doi: 10.11648/j.ajpn.20140201.11

    Copy | Download

  • @article{10.11648/j.ajpn.20140201.11,
      author = {Jui Das and Fahmida Dil Farzana and Farzana Ferdous and Shahnawaz Ahmed and Sarah Tegenfeldt and Repon Chandra Paul and Mohammod Jobayer Chisti and Abu Syed Golam Faruque and Sumon Kumar Das},
      title = {Factors Associated with Elderly Depression among Rural Bangladeshi Individuals},
      journal = {American Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience},
      volume = {2},
      number = {1},
      pages = {1-7},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajpn.20140201.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajpn.20140201.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajpn.20140201.11},
      abstract = {Background: Depression is a chronic disorder, which often remains undiagnosed. There is a gross lack of evidence-based information about depressive illnesses among adult individuals from rural Bangladesh. Objective:  The present study aimed to determine the factors that are associated with depressive illness but remain undiagnosed among rural healthy adult individuals. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the Demographic Surveillance System area of rural Mirzapur sub-district, during April to September 2010. A total of 130 apparently healthy individuals [no history of hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, hepatic (serum alanine transaminase; ALT) or renal (serum creatinine) dysfunction; diabetic mellitus (fasting blood sugar)] aged 40 years and above were randomly selected from the DSS database. Level of depression was assessed using 30-item Geriatric Depression Scale. Results: Forty-two percent of the healthy  participants were found to have mild depression, 17% were severely depressed. In multivariate analysis, females had a 2.79 [95% CI-0.94-8.26] times higher risk for depression compared to males. Healthy elderly individuals (≥60 years) had a 2.79 [0.94-8.33] times higher risk for depression compared to their middle-aged counterparts (40-59 years). Furthermore, individuals who consumed a vegetable-based diet were at 2.47 [0.85-7.15] times higher risk for depression; individuals with low monthly income were at 2.57 [0.94-7.01] times higher, and those with poor wealth index were 1.55 [1.07-2.25] times more likely to suffer from depression compared to their counterparts after adjusting for vitamin B12, folic acid, ALT, and blood hemoglobin. Conclusion: Healthy elderly individuals from rural Bangladesh were more depressed than middle-aged adults; and females with poor socio-economic status were at higher risk for depression than males.},
     year = {2014}
    }
    

    Copy | Download

  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Factors Associated with Elderly Depression among Rural Bangladeshi Individuals
    AU  - Jui Das
    AU  - Fahmida Dil Farzana
    AU  - Farzana Ferdous
    AU  - Shahnawaz Ahmed
    AU  - Sarah Tegenfeldt
    AU  - Repon Chandra Paul
    AU  - Mohammod Jobayer Chisti
    AU  - Abu Syed Golam Faruque
    AU  - Sumon Kumar Das
    Y1  - 2014/01/20
    PY  - 2014
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajpn.20140201.11
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajpn.20140201.11
    T2  - American Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience
    JF  - American Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience
    JO  - American Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience
    SP  - 1
    EP  - 7
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2330-426X
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajpn.20140201.11
    AB  - Background: Depression is a chronic disorder, which often remains undiagnosed. There is a gross lack of evidence-based information about depressive illnesses among adult individuals from rural Bangladesh. Objective:  The present study aimed to determine the factors that are associated with depressive illness but remain undiagnosed among rural healthy adult individuals. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the Demographic Surveillance System area of rural Mirzapur sub-district, during April to September 2010. A total of 130 apparently healthy individuals [no history of hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, hepatic (serum alanine transaminase; ALT) or renal (serum creatinine) dysfunction; diabetic mellitus (fasting blood sugar)] aged 40 years and above were randomly selected from the DSS database. Level of depression was assessed using 30-item Geriatric Depression Scale. Results: Forty-two percent of the healthy  participants were found to have mild depression, 17% were severely depressed. In multivariate analysis, females had a 2.79 [95% CI-0.94-8.26] times higher risk for depression compared to males. Healthy elderly individuals (≥60 years) had a 2.79 [0.94-8.33] times higher risk for depression compared to their middle-aged counterparts (40-59 years). Furthermore, individuals who consumed a vegetable-based diet were at 2.47 [0.85-7.15] times higher risk for depression; individuals with low monthly income were at 2.57 [0.94-7.01] times higher, and those with poor wealth index were 1.55 [1.07-2.25] times more likely to suffer from depression compared to their counterparts after adjusting for vitamin B12, folic acid, ALT, and blood hemoglobin. Conclusion: Healthy elderly individuals from rural Bangladesh were more depressed than middle-aged adults; and females with poor socio-economic status were at higher risk for depression than males.
    VL  - 2
    IS  - 1
    ER  - 

    Copy | Download

Author Information
  • Centre for Nutrition and Food Security, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed Sarani, Mohakhali, Bangladesh

  • Centre for Nutrition and Food Security, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed Sarani, Mohakhali, Bangladesh

  • Centre for Nutrition and Food Security, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed Sarani, Mohakhali, Bangladesh

  • Centre for Nutrition and Food Security, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed Sarani, Mohakhali, Bangladesh

  • Centre for Nutrition and Food Security, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed Sarani, Mohakhali, Bangladesh

  • Centre for Nutrition and Food Security, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed Sarani, Mohakhali, Bangladesh

  • Centre for Nutrition and Food Security, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed Sarani, Mohakhali, Bangladesh

  • Centre for Nutrition and Food Security, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed Sarani, Mohakhali, Bangladesh

  • Centre for Nutrition and Food Security, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed Sarani, Mohakhali, Bangladesh; School of Population Health, The University of Queensland, Herston Rd, Herston, QLD 4006, Australia

  • Sections