Prevalence of major depressive disorders and suicide in long‐term care facilities: a report from northern Thailand

Abstract

Depression is a common mental illness among elderly Thais, but little is known about the occurrence of major depressive disorders (MDD) in long-term care (LTC) facilities. This study investigated the prevalence of MDD and suicide risk among residents in an LTC facility in northern Thailand. For this cross-sectional study, a care team conducted a screening program for MDD and suicide risk among LTC residents in 2011. The screening process used the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview, the Geriatric Depression Scale-15, the patient and caregiver versions of the Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia, the Core Symptom Index and the Mini Mental State Examination. In total, 81 (of 113) residents participated in the study. The mean age was 76.96 ± 7.17 years old (range, 63-94), and 55.6% of participants were women. With the Mini Mental State Examination, 40.7% were found to have cognitive impairment, and with the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview, 23.5% met the criteria for current major depressive episodes. Though the majority was in the low-risk group, 26 residents (32.1%) were reported as being at risk of suicide. The patient and caregiver versions of the Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia, the Geriatric Depression Scale-15 and the Core Symptom Index proved useful for predicting major depressive episodes among the residents (P < 0.001, P = 0.004, P = 0.001 and P < 0.001, respectively), including those with cognitive impairment (P = 0.006, P = 0.020, P = 0.049 and P = 0.012, respectively). Nearly one-quarter of LTC facility residents were found to suffer from MDD, and a suicide risk was reported for one-third, though most of the cases were in the low-risk category. Further studies with a larger sample size are recommended to make these findings more precise and universally applicable.