The Current Situation and Influencing Factors of Depression in the Elderly: A Case Study of Guangdong Province

Elderly depression has been recognized as a major global public health issue. If elderly depression patients do not receive timely and effective treatment, it will increase their risk of suffering from physiological and psychological diseases, not only bringing serious economic burden to families, but also increasing the burden of disease on society. The aim of this study is to explore the status of depression in the elderly and analyze its main influencing factors. Totally 1508 elderly people (776 males and 734 females) from 5 cities in Guangdong Province are selected by stratified random sampling. They are surveyed with the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS), Mini mental State Examination (MMSE), and a self-edited questionnaire of general personal and living conditions of the elderly. The survey results indicate the following 2 points. First, the total score of GDS is (10.20 ± 6.37), the total score of SSRS and objective support, subjective support, and the utilization of social support are (30.79 ± 5.51), (9.24 ± 2.37), (19.38 ± 4.95), and (9.22 ± 2.15), respectively. Second, the results of multiple binomial logistic regression analysis show that the following 7 factors (OR=1.067~20.224, P=0.000~0.045) are risk factors for elderly depression, like economically developed or underdeveloped regions, woman, high education, unmarried or widowed, poor health status, monthly pension of 1001-2500 yuan, and insufficient social support level, while other 6 items (OR=0.035-0.849, P=0.000-0.041) are protective factors for elderly depression, such as economically advanced regions, having children, living with spouses or children, pension of more than 2500 yuan, satisfactory social support, and engaging in occupations other than civil servants before retirement. It is therefore suggested that depression is a common mental disorder in the elderly, and social support, personal economic status, and life adaptability may be influencing factors for depression in the elderly.