Prevalence and associated factors of depressive symptoms among elderly inpatients of a Chinese tertiary hospital

• Published in: Clinical interventions in aging Vol. 13; pp. 1755 - 1762
• Main Authors: Zou, Chuan, Chen, Shanping, Shen, Jing, Zheng, Xiaomei, Wang, Lingxiao, Guan, Lijuan, Liu, Qian, Yang, Yongxue
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New Zealand Dove Medical Press Limited 01.01.2018; Taylor & Francis Ltd; Dove Medical Press
• Subjects: Activities of daily living; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Analysis; China - epidemiology; Chronic Disease; Chronic diseases; Chronic illnesses; Cognition; Cognitive Dysfunction - psychology; comprehensive geriatric assessment; Cross-Sectional Studies; Depression (Mood disorder); Depression - diagnosis; Depression - epidemiology; Depressive Disorder - epidemiology; depressive symptoms; elderly; Family; Family Relations - psychology; Female; Frailty; Frailty - psychology; Geriatric Assessment; Geriatric depression; Health screening; Hospital patients; Humans; inpatients; Inpatients - psychology; Inpatients - statistics & numerical data; Male; Malnutrition; Medical research; Mental disorders; Middle Aged; Nutrition; Older people; Original Research; Prevalence; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Psychological aspects; Systematic review; Tertiary Care Centers; China; aged; prevalence; comprehensive geriatric assessment; inpatients; depressive symptoms
• ISSN: 1178-1998; 1176-9092; 1178-1998
• DOI: 10.2147/CIA.S170346

Depression in the elderly is a serious and often underdiagnosed psychiatric disorder that has been linked to adverse outcomes in the hospital setting. This study aims to evaluate the prevalence of depressive symptoms and associated factors among elderly hospital inpatients. The cross-sectional study included 411 consecutively hospitalized patients aged 60 years and older. Participants were evaluated within 48 hours of admission using an interviewer-administered questionnaire including the Geriatric Depression Scale and comprehensive geriatric assessment to provide basic demographic and clinical information. Most of the participants were male (64.5%), with a mean (SD) age of 75.9 (8.1) years between 60 and 97 years. The prevalence of depressive symptoms was 32.8%. Univariate analysis showed significant associations between depressive symptoms and older age, female gender, lower body mass index, number of chronic diseases, impaired family function, impaired cognition, malnutrition, increased frailty, and decreased ability to perform activities of daily living. After logistic regression, variables that remained significantly associated with depression were cognitive decline (odds ratio =1.97, 95% CI: 1.09-3.55), poor family function (odds ratio =2.01, 95% CI: 1.10-3.66), and frailty (odds ratio =5.07, 95% CI: 1.95-13.20). Depressive symptoms were independently associated with prolonged hospital length. Depressive symptoms were prevalent among hospitalized elderly and independently associated with cognitive decline, poor family function, and frailty. Therefore, it is essential to screen for depression and perform a comprehensive geriatric assessment in these patients to identify and manage depressive symptoms.