Geriatric depression and associated factors in the women in Darjeeling hills

The objective of this cross-sectional survey was to explore the prevalence and associated factors of depression for the 150 elderly women, aged 60 years and above in the Darjeeling hills of West Bengal. Depressive symptoms of the subjects were assessed using the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15) short form developed by Yesavage, J.A., et al., (1982). It was found that out of 150 elderly women 58.7per cent (n=88) were considered to be depressed. The highest risk factors were the decline in health, impairment of senses, decrease in enthusiasm, and economic insecurity. Depression, particularly mild depression, is common among elderly women and the result confirms that the majority of the elderly women have early onset ofdepression which was found to be positively associated with increasing age. Based on the present findings it is suggested that quality of life of the aged women can ameliorate if the geriatric health care services are to be improved by the society in general and governmental agencies.