Depression amongst older people is considered an important public health issue and is the most common mental health problem. It poses a critical impact on well-being and the quality of life of older people and it is related with high expenses and a great demand for health care services.
Objective: To estimate the prevalence of depression among older people in an urban area’s population and to investigate the aggravating and protective factors.
Material and Method: The sample consisted of 360 individuals, 218 women and 142 men, aged 60 years or older, members of the four Open Care Centres for Older People (KAPI) of Agioi
Anargyroi Municipality, in Attica. A questionnaire for demographic and phycho-social factors was used, whereas depression was probed through the Geriatric Depression Scale, (Short Form – GDS-15), which has been standardized and adapted for a Greek older population.
Results: 30,28% of the sample had depressive symptoms (22,22% moderate and 8,06% serious clinical type depression). It was also shown that depression amongst women (70,6%) was much higher – more than double compared to men (29,4%). The symptomatology of depression occurred widely among widower/widows, the divorced or separated, people living
alone, those with multiple pathologies and older informal family carers. The symptomatology of depression appeared at a lower rate among older people who took care of their grandchildren or
participated in social activities.
Conclusions: The verification of a high percentage of depressive symptoms in our sample of older people confirms the urgent need to create a strong psycho-social support network aimed at preventing depression and promoting health among older people in the context of Primary Health Care (PHC).