Prevalence of mental illness and associated factors among the elderly in Ogun East Senatorial District, Nigeria

Abstract

Abstract Background: Mental health problems are common in the elderly; they often go unnoticed, ignored, untreated, or considered part of normal aging. About a quarter of the Nigerian population have mental health problems, out of which 3.26% are elderly. Aim: This study aimed to determine the prevalence, types, and factors associated with mental illnesses among the elderly. Materials and Methods: This was a community-based cross-sectional survey of the elderly. Four hundred and two elderly people were selected by a multistage sampling technique and were interviewed using semi-structured questionnaires. Data analysis was done using the IBM SPSS Statistics version 22.0. Descriptive statistics were summarized using proportion and presented in frequency tables. Bivariate analyses were done using the Chi-square test and logistic regression analyses. The level of significance was set at a 95% confidence interval with P < 0.05. Results: The prevalence of mental illness among the elderly respondents was 35.8%. Of all the mental illnesses, generalized anxiety disorder ranked the highest (15.4%), followed by current alcohol dependence (14.9%). The factors found to be associated with mental illness in the elderly included monogamous family type (odds ratio [OR] = 0.211, P = 0.034) and monthly income <50,000 Naira (OR = 85.108, P = 0.003). Conclusion: This study revealed that the prevalence of mental illness was high among the community-dwelling elderly respondents of Ogun East Senatorial District. The determinants of mental illness among the elderly were monthly income of <50,000 naira, while monogamous family type was found to be protective of mental illness in the elderly.