Depression and anxiety among the elderly persons from institutional and noninstitutional settings in the field practice area of a tertiary-care institute, Andhra Pradesh: a comparative study

icle online Website: Quick Response Code: DOI: 10.5455/ijmsph.2016. Research Article Depression and anxiety among the elderly persons from institutional and noninstitutional settings in the field practice area of a tertiary-care institute, Andhra Pradesh: a comparative study Praveen Kumar BA, Sharvanan Eshwaran Udayar, Sai Sravan, Arun D Department of Community Medicine, PES Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Kuppam, Andhra Pradesh, India. Correspondence to: Praveen Kumar BA, E-mail: Received May 3, 2016. Accepted May 5, 2016 Background: Among the elderly population, the most common psychiatric conditions include depression and anxiety, which often go untreated or unrecognized, owing to the lack of knowledge and misperceptions about these conditions. As the rise in aging population is the current trend all over the world, these morbidities may result in decreased quality of life among elderly population if left untreated. Objective: To assess and compare depression and anxiety among the elderly people from institutional and noninstitutional settings. Materials and Methods: A total of 112 elderly persons, 56 from old-age home and 56 from the community in the field practice area of a tertiary-care institute, Kuppam, were selected. Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) and Hamilton Anxiety 14 item rating scale were used to assess the depression and anxiety, respectively. Result: Overall prevalence of depression was 66.1%, and anxiety was 93.8% among the study population. Prevalence of depression was more among institutional elderly persons compared with those from the community, which was statistically significant. Prevalence of anxiety was almost equal among the elderly population from institutional and noninstitutional settings. Conclusion: High prevalence necessitates early screening and management of depression and anxiety, especially among the institutional elderly persons. A multidimensional approach to manage these problems to improving the quality of life of the elderly individuals should be the goal. KEY WORDS: Elderly, depression, anxiety, institutional, Noninstitutional Abstract International Journal of Medical Science and Public Health Online 2016. © 2016 Praveen Kumar BA. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( and to remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially, provided the original work is properly cited and states its license. may increase dramatically over the coming years. The percentage of India’s population in the age group of 60 years and above was 7.6% in 2000, expected to be12.5%in 2025,and 20.6%in 2050.[2] By the middle of this century, 60 years and older population in India was expected to reach 323 million, a number greater than the total US population in 2012.[3] In India, life expectancy at birth for male subjects increased from 42 years (1951–1960) to 58 years (1986–1990), and it is projected to increase to 67 years for male and 69 years for female subjects by the year 2016.[4] Rise in aging population results in proportionate rise in age-related health conditions. Mental disorders in the elderly persons often go untreated or unrecognized, especially in developing world, owing to the misperceptions that these disorders are a normal part of aging and a natural reaction to I