Geriatrics, Gerontology & Elderly Care

Biography

Biography: Brunilda Elezi

Abstract

Mental health such as depression and anxiety are the most important health indicators that cause considerable morbidity in elderly people. Providing elderly mental healthcare in Elbasan city, especially during the pandemic COVID-19 time is challenging due to many reasons such as the unusual situation that this pandemic caused, also the growth of the elderly population and limited health resources. We examined the prevalence of depression and anxiety, as well as the risk factors of these mental health issues among elderly over 65 years old in Elbasan city. This is a cross-sectional study conducted on 617 persons ≥ 65 years old that living in Elbasan city. A google form or a face-to-face interview with a pre-tested questionnaire was carried out by all participants. General Anxiety Disorder Assessment (GAD) for anxiety assessment and Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) for depression assessment were incorporated into the questionnaire. Data were analyzed by chi-square test. All statistical analyses were done using SPSS version 20.0. P-values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant.

The prevalence of depression and anxiety in this study resulted in 87.8% and 88% respectively. More of the patients 80.2% (495/617) had passed the COVID-19 disease. According to the severity of anxiety and depression, in most of the cases, 77.9% (325/417) resulted in mild anxiety, while 71.4% (302/417) resulted in mild depression. The highest prevalence is observed in age groups (65 to 75 years old). Women were an almost double number of cases 66% compared to males. The women were 1.8 times at risk for anxiety compared to males for 95% CI [0.45-3.42] p-value resulted =0.02 and 1.4 times in risk for occurrence of depression compared to men for CI 95% [0.39-3.12] p-value resulted =0.03. There was found a strong association between marital status, level of monthly income, comorbidities and living conditions with anxiety and depression. The findings of this study suggested a higher prevalence of anxiety and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic time. Women were the most affected gender and persons between the ages of 65-75 years old. We strongly recommended raising community awareness of mental health, encouraging social participation and supportive counseling is also essential in combating anxiety and depression among adults. Taking action to address the burden of major depressive disorder and anxiety disorders should be an immediate option for all medical staff and stakeholders.