Abstract
Introduction: Depression is a common mental disorder in the elderly and is a factor that greatly affects the quality of life of the elderly.
Objectives: To survey of the status of depression and some related factors in the elderly in Phan Dinh Phung ward, in Thai Nguyen city.
Methods: a cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on 453 elderly in Phan Dinh Phung ward, in Thai Nguyen city. Depression is diagnosed according to standard ICD - 10 and Geriatric Depression Scale - 15 (GDS - 15).
Results: The average age of elderly in the study was 68,80±5,95 (years); The percentage of female was 60%, Kinh ethnic elderly are 89,8%, the elderly with education level from high school or higher are 59,2%, the elderly can afford health care services are 71,5%, the elderly with history of hypertension are 39,5%. The prevalence of depression in elderly was 26,7% (mild depression: 21,6%; moderate and severe depression 5,1%. The rate of depression was significantly higher in the elderly of the Kinh ethnic, the elderly can not afford health care services, the elderly with history of hypertension, stroke (p<0,05).
Conclusion: The prevalence of depression in elderly was 26,7%. The elderly of the Kinh ethnic, can not afford health care services, with history of hypertension, stroke have a higher rate of depression (p<0,05).