Background: Depression among older adults is a frequent and underdiagnosed condition. However, there is a paucity of research on mental health problems among elderly people in Arab countries. The purpose of this study was to describe the risk of depression among a representative sample of older Lebanese adults living in rural areas and to identify gender-specific factors associated with depression risk.

Methods: This study included a randomly selected sample of 823 rural elderly people aged ≥65 years without cognitive decline. Data, including sociodemographic characteristics, living condition, health and functional status, were collected during face-to-face interviews. Depression was assessed by the five-item Geriatric Depression Scale.

Results: Risk for depression was significantly higher in women than in men (39.5% vs 26.2%, P < 0.001). Among men, reporting a higher versus a lower income (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 0.299) and being physically active significantly decreased the odds of depressive symptoms. In addition, physical disability (AOR = 3.03) and a high level of loneliness (AOR = 41.76) were significantly related to an increased risk of depression. Among women, daily or occasional physical activity was related to a reduced risk of depression compared to sedentary lifestyles (AOR = 0.35; AOR = 0.50). Furthermore digestive symptoms (AOR = 1.98), poor nutritional status (AOR = 1.99), and strong feelings of loneliness (AOR = 10.86) were significantly related to an increased odds of depression.

Conclusion: Elderly Lebanese people, especially women, were at high risk for depression. Among other gender-specific factors, loneliness was strongly associated with depressive disorders in both genders, with a four times greater odds ratio in men than in women.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/psyg.12708DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

risk depression
12
gender-specific factors
8
factors associated
8
older adults
8
elderly people
8
depression
7
associated risk
4
depression lebanese
4
lebanese older
4
adults background
4

Similar Publications

Plasma phosphorylated tau and neuropsychiatric symptoms in dementia with Lewy bodies.

Alzheimers Dement

December 2024

Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing, Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.

Introduction: Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPSs) are common in dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) but their neurobiological mechanisms are poorly understood.

Methods: NPSs and cognition were assessed annually in participants (DLB n = 222; Alzheimer's disease [AD] n = 125) from the European DLB (E-DLB) Consortium, and plasma phosphorylated tau-181 (p-tau181) and p-tau231 concentrations were measured at baseline.

Results: Hallucinations, delusions, and depression were more common in DLB than in AD and, in a subgroup with longitudinal follow-up, persistent hallucinations and NPSs were associated with lower p-tau181 and p-tau231 in DLB.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Fear of recurrence is a transdiagnostic problem experienced by people with psychosis, which is associated with anxiety, depression and risk of future relapse events. Despite this, there is a lack of available psychological interventions for fear of recurrence, and psychological therapies for schizophrenia are often poorly implemented in general. However, low-intensity psychological therapy is available for people who experience fear of recurrence in the context of cancer, which means there is an opportunity to learn what has worked in a well-implemented psychological therapy to see if any learning can be adapted for schizophrenia care.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Urinary incontinence is associated with social isolation, deconditioning, depression, falls and early mortality. It impairs quality of life, even in residents of nursing homes, and, in the community, increases the risk of institutionalisation. Care focused on the preservation of dignity during intimate care is important in the care of older adults.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: PAdverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are associated with an increased risk of mental health issues in general, but their relationship with panic disorder (PD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has received less attention compared to borderline personality disorder (BPD). Dissociative experiences are significant predictors of increased symptoms, reduced treatment adherence, and poor prognosis in several psychiatric conditions, including PD, OCD, and BPD; still, their impact remains underexplored. This part of the study focuses on the overall efficiency of psychotherapeutic programs on treatment-resistant patients diagnosed with PD, OCD, and BPD (or combined), as well as the relationship between ACEs, dissociation rates, and treatment results.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Association of sleep quality and its change with the risk of depression in middle-aged and elderly people: A 10-year cohort study from England.

J Affect Disord

December 2024

Department of Radiology, the Second Affiliated Hospital, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang, China.; Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Intelligent Medical Imaging, Nanchang, China.. Electronic address:

Background: Persistently poor sleep quality in young adults is linked to a higher risk of depression. However, the impact of changes in sleep quality on depression risk in middle-aged and older adults remain unclear. This study investigates the association between sleep quality, its changes, and the risk of depression in middle-aged and elderly people.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!