Prevalence and incidence of depression in the Thai elderly

Abstract

The purposes of this study were to study the prevalence and incidence of depression in elderly Thais. A field survey study was implemented. The sample consisted of 1,713 elderly people in 35 communities from 4 districts surrounding Siriraj Hospital Bangkok Noi, Bangkok Yai, Taling Chun and Bang Plud. These areas are the peripheral part of Bangkok and most of them have extended family. The Thai Geriatric Depression Scale (TGDS) and the Thai Mini Mental State Examination (TMSE) were used as screening tests, for data collection. The prevalence of depression was 12.78 per cent, of which 8.23 per cent had only depressive symptomatology (male 5.43%, female 9.63%) while 4.55 per cent had both depression and cognitive impairment (male 2.8%, female 5.54%). The point incidence (one year) of depression was 7.27 (male 1.58%, female 5.68%). The major contributing factors in depression were financial, poor family relationships and physical illness. The prevention and management of these factors may bring about a better quality of life for the elderly in Thailand.