Prevalence of cognitive impairment and depression among elderly population in urban Chitradurga

Population aging is an emerging issue of developed as well as developing countries. Cognitive impairment (CI) is defined as “confusion or memory loss that is happening more often or is getting worse during the past 12 months”. Depression is a mental state disorder characterized by persistent depressed mood or loss of interests in activities causing significant impairment in daily life. Regular physical activities, control of blood sugar and cholesterol can reduce the risk of both cognition and depression. Thus the objectives of the study were to find the prevalence of cognitive impairment and depression among elderly and to detect association between cognitive impairment and depression among elderly in urban filed practice area of Chitradurga. This cross sectional study was carried out in urban areas of Chitradurga, from February to April 2019.The study participants were geriatric age population with age more than or equal to 60 completed years. A sample size of 280 was obtained with sample prevalence being 58.9% and margin of error 10%. Data was collected using standardized pre-tested structured questionnaire, which included socio-demographic variables, mini mental state examination (MMSE) scale to detect cognitive impairment and geriatric depression scale (GDS) short version to identify depression. Data was entered & analyzed using SPSS 20. Chi- Square test was used. P value <0.05 was considered significant. The prevalence of cognitive impairment and depression in the elderly was noted to be 33.6% and 60% respectively. Factors showing significant association with MMSE score included older age group, male gender, single/widowed status, and elderly belonging to lower socioeconomic status, joint family and illiteracy. The association between cognitive impairment and depression was found to be statistically significant with a p value of <0.001. There is an association between cognitive impairment and depression. Therefore it is essential to screen elderly for depression scale while assessing cognitive impairment.