Factors Associated with Depressive Symptoms in Elderly Individuals Living in Urban Communities

Figures & data

Table 1 Proportion of Depression (TGDS>12)

Community	Number	Mild Depression (TGDS =13-18)		Moderate Depression (TGDS =19-24)		p-value
		n	%	n	%
Slum	327	19	5.8	8	2.4	0.031*
Urban areas	329	19	5.8	5	1.5
Suburban areas	115	10	8.7	2	1.7
High-rise buildings area	117	1	0.9	1	0.9
Total	888	49	5.5	16	1.8

Note: *Fisher’s exact test.

Abbreviation: TGDS, Thai Geriatric Depression Scale.

Table 2 Associated Factors of Depression

Factors	Depression	Non-Depression	p-value
	n (%)	n (%)
Personal Factors
Gender
Male	14 (5.4)	246 (94.6)	0.154
Female	51 (8.1)	577 (91.9)
Age (Year)
60–69	28 (5.9)	446 (94.1)	0.206
70–79	25 (8.6)	266 (91.4)
≥ 80	12 (9.8)	111 (90.2)
Marital status
Single	13 (7.0)	173 (93.0)	0.042
Married/ stay together	27 (7.2)	349 (92.8)
Marital separation	12 (14.8)	69 (85.2)
Widowed	13 (5.3)	232 (94.7)
Education
Uneducated	7 (10.6)	59 (89.4)	0.306*
Primary	40 (7.8)	475 (92.2)
Secondary/Equivalent	12 (5.8)	194 (94.2)
Bachelor’s degree and above	5 (10.0)	45 (90.0)
Literacy
Unable to read and write	16 (10.6)	135 (89.4)	0.082
Able to read, unable to write	6 (11.8)	45 (88.2)
Able to read and write	43 (6.3)	643 (93.7)
Ability to use social media
Able	62 (8.2)	695 (91.8)	0.017
Unable	3 (2.3)	128 (97.7)
Biological Factors
Underlying disease
No	13 (5.3)	232 (94.7)	0.155
Yes	52 (8.1)	591 (91.9)
Current anxiety about their underlying disease
No	11 (2.7)	392 (97.3)	<0.001
Yes	41 (17.1)	199 (82.9)
History of psychiatric illness in family
No	54 (6.4)	794 (93.6)	<0.001*
Yes	11 (27.5)	29 (72.5)
Drug reliance and addiction
No	63 (7.3)	801 (92.7)	1.000*
Yes	2 (8.3)	22 (91.7)
Smoking habit
No	53 (6.9)	714 (93.1)	0.238
Yes	12 (9.9)	109 (90.1)
Alcoholic drink consumption
No	52 (7.1)	677 (92.9)	0.647
Yes	13 (8.2)	146 (91.8)
Economic Factors
Occupation
No	49 (9.4)	472 (90.6)	0.015
Yes	15 (4.7)	307 (95.3)
Unknown	1 (2.2)	44 (97.8)
Income
No	23 (12.7)	158 (87.3)	0.002
Yes	42 (5.9)	665 (94.1)
Income sufficiency
Sufficient	22 (3.7)	567 (96.3)	<0.001
Insufficient	43 (14.4)	256 (85.6)
Social Factors
Residential conditions
Live individually	9 (9.5)	86 (90.5)	0.259
Live with spouse/child(ren)	17 (8.3)	189 (91.7)
Live with relative(s)	21 (5.4)	369 (94.6)
Others	18 (9.1)	179 (90.9)
Family relationship
Close	58 (6.9)	783 (93.1)	0.005*
Independent living	3 (8.1)	34 (91.9)
Conflicts within family	4 (40.0)	6 (60.0)
Number of family members
1–4 Person(s)	39 (6.6)	549 (93.4)	0.271
≥ 5 Persons	26 (8.7)	274 (91.3)
Ability to perform daily tasks
Independent	57 (6.9)	766 (93.1)	0.132*
Dependent	8 (12.3)	57 (87.7)
Community group membership
No	47 (7.9)	550 (92.1)	0.365
Yes	18 (6.2)	273 (93.8)
Activity participation within the past year
Frequently	9 (3.1)	284 (96.9)	0.005
From time to time	26 (9.0)	262 (91.0)
Never	26 (10.5)	222 (89.5)

Note: *Fisher’s exact test. Data are presented as n (%).

Table 3 Factors Affecting Depression Analyzed by Multiple Logistic Regression

Factors	Univariable Analysis			Multivariable Analysis
	OR^a	95% CI	p-value	AOR^b	95% CI	p-value
Personal Factors
Marital status
Single	1.00	Reference		1.00	Reference
Married/ stay together	1.03	(0.52–2.05)	0.934	0.84	(0.36–1.94)	0.680
Marital separation	2.31	(1.01–5.32)	0.048	3.31	(1.22–8.98)	0.019
Widowed	0.75	(0.34–1.65)	0.469	0.63	(0.25–1.59)	0.327
Ability to use social media
Able	1.00	Reference		1.00	Reference
Unable	0.26	(0.08–0.85)	0.026	0.26	(0.07–1.02)	0.053
Physical Factors
Current anxiety about their underlying disease
No	1.00	Reference		1.00	Reference
Yes	7.34	(3.69–14.6)	<0.001	7.51	(3.47–16.27)	<0.001
History of psychiatric illness in family
No	1.00	Reference		1.00	Reference
Yes	5.58	(2.64–11.77)	<0.001	5.78	(2.35–14.21)	<0.001
Economic Factors
Occupation
Yes	1.00	Reference		1.00	Reference
No	2.13	(1.17–3.86)	0.013	1.88	(0.91–3.88)	0.086
Income
Yes	1.00	Reference		1.00	Reference
No	2.31	(1.35–3.94)	0.002	1.68	(0.88–3.22)	0.116
Income sufficiency
Sufficient	1.00	Reference		1.00	Reference
Insufficient	4.33	(2.54–7.39)	<0.001	3.81	(2.08–6.98)	<0.001
Social Factors
Family relationships
Close	1.00	Reference		1.00	Reference
Independent living	1.19	(0.36–4.00)	0.777	0.39	(0.10–1.58)	0.187
Conflicts within family	9.00	(2.47–32.79)	0.001	6.30	(1.34–29.55)	0.020
Activity participation within the past year
Frequently	1.00	Reference		1.00	Reference
From time to time	3.13	(1.44–6.81)	0.004	3.09	(1.32–7.26)	0.010
Never	3.70	(1.70–8.05)	0.001	3.02	(1.29–7.09)	0.011

Notes: ^aCrude odds ratio estimated by binary logistic regression. ^bAdjusted odds ratio estimated by multiple logistic regression adjusted for marital status, ability to use social media, anxiety about current disease, family history of psychiatric illness, occupation, income, income sufficiency, family relationship, activity participation within the past year. Variable was included in the multivariable model due to having p-value < 0.05 in the univariable analysis.

Abbreviations: OR, odds ratio; AOR, adjusted odds ratio; CI, confidence interval.