Objectives: To determine the proportion of geriatric
depression and factors associated with its occurrence
among a sample of the elderly population in Sohag
Governorate.
Methods: A cross-sectional, community-based study
was conducted from May 2016 to March 2017 with
1,027 elderly individuals (aged ≥60 years) living
in Sohag Governorate, Egypt. A questionnaire
was designed and included inquiries on sociodemographic
variables (age, gender, and residence)
and the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-
15) to determine the outcome variable, the presence
of depression, among the studied elderly population.
Results: About two-thirds (62.7%) of participants
suffered from depression. Regarding depression levels,
450 (43.8%) participants had mild depression with
GDS-15 scores between 5 and 8, and 18.9% of
participants had moderate depression, represented by
GDS-15 scores between 9 and 11. No participants
had severe depression. Applying logistic regression
analysis, increased age, female gender, and living in
rural areas were significantly linked to the occurrence
of geriatric depression among participants.
Conclusion: These findings highlight the need to
introduce geriatric clinics into healthcare services and
to provide counseling and psychiatric services, and to
support high-risk groups and evaluate them regularly
for early detection in order to positively impact their
life quality.