Prevalence of depression in elderly Kurdish community residing in Boukan, Iran

Psychological disorder, mostly depression, is one of the most frequent problems among elderly people. Prevalence of depression could be varied in different culture and ethnicity. Main goal of this study was to measure the prevalence of depression along with some other related factors in Kurdish elderly people over 60 in Boukan, Iran. Methods & Materials: This study was a descriptive, cross-sectional design. Three-hundred community- dwelling Kurdish people over 60 without cognitive impairment, were selected by cluster technique, randomly. A questionnaire containing demographic information and standardized questionnaires of depression in the elderly (GDS15) were used which completed by interview. Data were interpreted with analysis of variance, t-test and chi2 in SPSS 16.

According to research the mean age was70/69years (72.98years for men and 68.26years for women). The mean depression score was 5.94± 3.405 and the prevalence of depression was 38.7 % for mild depression, 16.3 % for moderate depression, 7 % severe depression and 38 % were asymptomatic. In this study significant relationship was observed between depression score and gender (P value =0.032), age (P value =0.023), education (P value =0.000), living set up (P value =0.006), employment(P value =0.000).There was no significant relationship between depression score and, rural or urban region, marital status and number of children.

According to the research, prevalence of depression specially mild depression among Kurdish elderly, found to be high. It is necessary to identify such patients and provide a proper planning for discovering related factors and implement feasible therapeutic plans for such mild depression. Comparing investigation of aforementioned Kurdish elderly, with other elderly in different ethnic backgrounds in Iran is highly suggested.