Prevalence of dementia and other psychiatric morbidities among geriatric population of Salagame primary health centre in Hassan district, Karnataka, India

Abstract

Background: Depression and dementia are mental health problems that are encountered in elderly in india. it is imperative for us to recognize these symptoms in elderly and treat them appropriately. Thus we intended to study the prevalence and risk factors of depression and dementia in geriatric population in selected field practice area of Hassan Medical College. Methods: A community based descriptive study was conducted among 231 individuals in geriatric age group aged 60 and above, over a period of 2 months. The sample size was estimated based on the prevalence of depression as 31% stated in one of the large community based study using similar scale. Geriatric Depression Scale-15 (GDS-15) was used to screen for depressive disorders and Barthel Index to grade their physical activity. Dementia among elderly was screened with a vernacular adaptation of the Hindi Mental State Examination tool (HMSE). Results: Among 231 individuals, 150 (64.93%) were females and 81 (35.06%) were males. 45.88% of them had no formal education. Among 231 elderly individuals, 13 cases of dementia were identified with a prevalence rate of 5.6%. Total prevalence of depression was found to be 60.17%. Higher prevalence of dementia was found in females (6.6%), age above 80 years (18.7%), unemployed and labourers (7.4%), illiterates (7.4%), low SES (6.5%) and dependents (7.5%). Conclusions: Depression and dementia are important health problems of the elderly population. Simple tools used in this study can be used at primary health care settings for early identification of dementia and depression in the elderly population.